The Story

Originally posted on SingleMomzRock.com

Have you ever read a book you didn't like? You know, the book that started beautifully: a boy and girl fell in love. But, as the pages turned, life became ugly. Many times, you put down the book, determined to never pick it up again. It just didn't seem worth reading. Characters that you fell in love with, became ugly. The plot took unexpected twists and turns. You felt almost depressed as you read the chapters. What happened? How did the book start out so well and end so horribly? 

For many of us, our lives were like this book. We entered a loving, caring relationship and we began a new, exciting chapter in our lives.  Children were born and a family began.  Somewhere along the way, though, life took some strange twists and turns. The light chapters became dark. The plot line flipped upside down and soon lawyers and judges were involved in our lives. At the end of it all, the only thing we were given was a piece of paper, filled with division of assets and visitation schedules. Our love story became a heap of ashes.

All of us have different stories. We've had different chapters, characters, and plots. Some of us saw the it coming and began to prepare. Some of us were caught completely off guard. But, our stories all led to the same thing: we became single moms. And entering that season usually isn't easy.

There's been many times I've wished for an instruction manual!

               Chapter One: What to Tell the Kids

               Chapter Two: How to Raise Children with The Man Who Hurt You

               Chapter Three: Going Back to Work After Being A Housewife

               Chapter Four: When There's More Bills Than Money

               Chapter Five: Where to Sit During Basketball Games and Band Concerts

I could keep going, but you get the idea! There's just so much we need to think about! Little lives are our responsibility. At times, we wish we could leap out of the pages of this horror story and jump back into the fairy tale chapters. But, we keep going. Keep pushing. Keep taking deep breaths and putting one foot in front of the other.

Then, the chapters start changing.

Like the day that you and the kids erupt in laughter over a lunchroom story!

The vacation you take with the kids by yourself!

The time you juggle multiple parent-teacher conferences, with all the teachers!

The promotion you got at a job you felt unqualified to do!

The time you talked to the ex and his new wife and you walked away, feeling fine!

               When you look to heaven and thank God that He never left you and your kids!

See, in all this unknown, a known Father sees every bit of it. None of it surprised Him. He isn't sitting in His Throne Room, shaking His head and calling us failures! Our Father is with us in every hard place. He's present in all the good times. He smiles because He not only knows what happened, but He knows that we are going to be great single moms! He knows the ending of the book.

The words that David spoke centuries ago become real in our modern-day situations,

"You saw me before I was born.

Every Day of my life was recorded in your book.

Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed."

               Psalm 139:16, NLT

We may wake up in the morning, not sure how everything will work out. But, God already planned for our Single Motherhood! Wait! What? God already knew and He's blessing my single-parenting life? Yes! Jesus didn't promise a full, abundant life just to the people who stayed married and raised the kids together. He promised it to everyone that accepts Him. So, those pages you wish you could tear out and throw away? God has them recorded already! He's got every day of your life and the life of your children laid out.

Single Momma, wake up and take that deep breath. Face the day, and your children, with a smile on your face. Jam out to some happy music while stuck in rush-hour traffic. Throw the frozen peas into the ramen noodles, while joking with the kids, and serve that dinner in the best bowls you own. Make prayer time your favorite time, seeking the wisdom of our Heavenly Father. These chapters are all yours! Take those twists and turns and make it into the best roller coaster that's ever been ridden. Your story has already been written!

Source: www.singlemomzrock.com