When you’ve been trying to be both mother and father for your kids, and you’re the go-to person for everything, life can feel like one burden after the other. You want peace. You want to take a breath, but it feels like a break never comes. Work-life balance seems to be something only for those who don’t really know the struggle. They have the luxury of choosing to take a break without things coming unglued. When you’re the one holding it down for everybody, that seems like a luxury you don’t have and can’t afford. You don’t remember a time when you didn’t have to do everything, and even with all this, you keep going. You’re thankful to have a roof over your head and food for your family, but you’re wondering how much longer it will be before something changes for the better.
Have you honestly given serious thought to what it would look like for a new man to come into your life with everything you’ve got going on? Relationships require nurturing, and that’s a time commitment. Do you have it? Can you squeeze one more thing into your already packed arms? And what about your kids? What if they are jealous of your time and aren’t willing to share? When we’re on the grind every day, we don’t always have time to indulge the kind of thoughts, questions, and answers that come with change, but this is necessary to make room for it.
God tells us in Philippians 4:6(NLT), “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.” In order to tell God what we need, we should have some idea about it. Effective prayer requires us to be as specific as possible. We need to be clear and concerned when we present ourselves before the Father. At the deepest level, we should convey to Him that we know who He is, we know His promises, and we’re doing our due diligence to pray in a way that honors Him. We don’t have to know all the details of our prayer requests, but we should know as much as possible about what we’re asking God to receive.
1John 3:20(NKJV) tells us, “For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.” God knows everything there is to know about us. He knows our struggles, our sin, and He knows every inch of our hearts. Amos 3:3 asks how can two walk together unless they agree? There’s nothing that we can tell our Heavenly Father that He doesn’t already know, so our prayers aren’t about informing Him. When we pray to God, He is giving us the privilege and responsibility to come into agreement with His promises.
Romans 10:17(NKJV) says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Faith comes where the truth is heard, believed, and then acted on. There’s no question about it, as single parents, there’s a lot on our plates. As single women period, there’s a lot we’re trying to juggle, but we can’t keep going around in circles. To give ourselves great hope, we must know more about God’s Word than we know right now. Get clear about what you want and be honest about what you can handle. Tell God what you need, and back it up by getting yourself on board with studying His Word and speaking His Word over your life in faith. Be patient as He leads you down the path of His blessings and be ready to make a few changes so you can embrace the change you desire. ■
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved
“Get Clear About What You Want”, written by Kim Times, edited by Fran Mack and K. Stephens for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2023. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord!