It Takes a Village: The ABCs of Support for Single Parents
While it may take two to conceive a baby, it often takes a village to raise a child. This African proverb has long been quoted to advise and encourage parents and people around the value of being interdependent. We all need community and viable support systems to do anything meaningful with God and for societal good. This quote’s inherent wisdom reminds us that our children, one of our prized and precious resources, are of such value that we steward them best when we do it together, with shared strengths and support. Heaven’s Help Having help, but also the willingness to receive the help that’s right for us can be transformative. Even in our relationship with God, His Strength becomes most apparent and elevated during our weaknesses. Our needs do not represent an inconvenience for Him, but rather opportunities for Him to Father us. He builds us up not only in our direct relationship with His Holy Spirit but also through the community in which He’s created us to live. As single parents, our journey can get wearisome, but God will send the right people and reveal the right help in the places where we most need it. Life happens to all of us, and sometimes the conditions by which we find ourselves raising children alone can be devastating. We often feel the weight of disillusionment and abandonment, believing that our parenting experience would have been different from our present reality. Some become single parents by choice, and others, by circumstances such as death, divorce, or a partner’s departure. However we arrived, the fact remains that raising a family, whether with or without a co-parent is a tremendous undertaking. In our instinct to cover and protect the children in our care, our own needs often go unattended. We may feel [...]