I wish I could tell you that in my single parenting journey I had always waited patiently for the Lord. I had lofty ideals of waiting on the Lord and staying strong. I’d like to impress you by saying that I would righteously read in Lamentations 3:24, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

The image I’d like to present is that I never got discouraged, but the truth is I did get tired of waiting on God. I did get discouraged when it seemed God delayed answering a prayer.

There were times I wanted to shout,

“Wake up, God! I’m down here waiting on You. Get up and stop rejecting me. Why are you hiding from me? Have you forgotten me? Don’t you know about my misery? I’m oppressed God. Look at me, will you?”

Of course, that is my version of the Scripture in Psalm 44:23-24 “Awake, O Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever. Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?” (NIV)

I discovered a long time ago that as a single parent the only way I was going to survive was to trust God. Trusting God is what life is all about. I had to keep my eyes focused on Him. In my younger years I thought perhaps waiting on the Lord might get easier as I got more mature and my children got older. Now I have discovered waiting isn’t any easier, but I do better understand the process of waiting, which probably lessens my stress.

There will be times when you are going to get discouraged. Sure you are going to wonder why you have to do this alone. There might be days when you go to the Word and try and read, but the understanding won’t come. Those are the times you need to envision God holding you.

“The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” Deuteronomy 33:27 (NIV). His everlasting arms are big enough to hold you and your children. Stay strong and stay in the Word.

This was republished with permission. To read more from Linda, visit dc4k.org or hlp4.com