He Loves you, He loves you not, He loves you!

I believe that single parenting is one of the most 
challenging responsibilities that life has to offer.
At times, this job has the potential to rip your heart 
into pieces. Talking to friends and relatives can relieve
some of the pressure. But you wonder, is there anyone that
really, really, understands your pain.

Looking back, I  recall speaking to a good friend, who 
also happened to be a single parent. The challenges of
loneliness, financial struggles, as well as my 
desire to discipline my children in ways that would help
them, all seemed to overtake me at times. It sounds 
foolish to me now, but at that time I said to my 
friend, "how can God really know what this feels like"?

And now I know that The Lord God himself is the only 
one who realty does understand every up and every down
of single parenting. Surely, other single 
parents may identify with your experiences and others 
my empathize with you. But only The Lord God Himself 
actually goes through every moment with you.

Just as I did, you might wonder - if The Lord is with me, 
why I'm even going through all of this in the first place. 
Well, honestly, many of my own troubles have been due to 
my own bad choices. But that doesn't prevent The Lord from 
being there for me, nor do your past mistakes prevent Him
from being there for you. 

I remember being so very distressed at one point until 
I literally cried out to The Lord. I asked Him why my 
life was going as it was. I was amazed by what I 
heard, although I didn't understand it that time. In 
response to my crying out I heard, 
"I HAVE LOVED YOU WITH AN EVERLASTING LOVE". 

I was shocked to find out months later that those very
words are actually written in the Bible (Jeremiah 31:3).
I must tell you that during that moment of my crying out,
although The Lord said that He loved me, the last thing 
that I felt was loved. I felt abandoned and desperate for
answers, and for help. 

As time passed, I began to see and really experience the
awesomeness of The Lord's love as He provided for us. As
I read the Bible and held on to the wisdom I found there. 
I began to understand the importance of correcting my 
children in love and I gained the strength I needed to
carry this out. I also learned that only The Lord Himself
can satisfy the loneliness that I felt. He did this by 
surrounding us with caring people with pure motives to 
help us. 

Yes, The Lord is with me. He's also only a prayer away
from you. And what is prayer but opening up your mouth
and heart to The Lord and humbly speaking the truth to 
Him. Yes, The Lord does love me and yes He does love you
and your children. Pray to Him. Sometimes His answers are
heard, and other times His answers come through other 
people, and most of the time His answers are found in 
the Bible. 

No matter what you've been through, the choices you've made,
or where you are right now, The Lord really does love you too,
and it's an everlasting love!