It's A Single Mom Thing
Welcome to “It's A Single Mom Thing”, the show for single moms by single moms.
Being a solo momma and present parent is hard work and it’s easy to lose your focus when you forget your faith. The good news is, that you are not alone, you were singled out in this season, and together we can work on what’s not working for you finding Christ in the crisis! Whether you are listening early in the morning or late at night, we are here for you!
Be encouraged. Get inspired. You can do this, momma.
Stay tuned as each Monday we will feature fresh and fun content and conversations as we join you on this journey from solo momma to solo momma. We promise not to take too much of your time and thank you for spending it with us. It may be a single mom thing, but it doesn’t have to be the single thing that stops you!
It's A Single Mom Thing
Summer Salty Remix: Resilience
🌞 Summer Replay Special: Embracing Resilience! 🌞
As the summer sun shines bright, we're bringing back one of our most inspiring episodes on resilience. 🌻
Whether you're lounging by the pool or enjoying a lazy day at the beach, tune in to hear powerful stories and insights on how to bounce back from life's challenges and thrive.
Get ready to be uplifted and empowered! Don't miss this chance to revisit a fan-favorite episode that's perfect for these summer days.
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It's a Single Mom Thing, Not the Single Thing That Stops You!
Welcome to it's a Single Mom Thing, the show for single moms by single moms. This is Sherri, your host, and I am happy you are here today. Remember it's a single mom thing and not the single thing that stops you. Welcome back, my single peeps. So, as the summer continues to shine bright and we're bringing back one of our most inspiring episodes and fan favorite on resilience one of our most inspiring episodes and fan favorite on resilience I challenge you, whether you're lounging by the pool or enjoying a lazy day at the beach, that you continue to listen and hear the powerful story and insights on how to bounce back from life's challenges and thrive. Might just be what you need to listen to as you get your kids ready to go back to school. So get ready to be uplifted and empowered and don't miss this chance to revisit your fan favorite episode. That's perfect for these long, hot summer days. I hope you enjoy this second episode in the series that I'm calling Salty Summer Remix. So I've heard that there are times when crisis hits that we feel like a parakeet. Now, yes, you did hear me correctly. I said a parakeet. Now stay with me as I chirp this one out for you.
Speaker 1:You see, everything was going along well for this little bird. His life was smooth, with all of his needs met, until that fateful morning. One minute he was sitting on his perch and the next he was tumbling end over end down a narrow tube until he fell into a pile of dirt and dust. Oh yes, you see. His owner had decided that she was going to clean the cage. So she got out the vacuum cleaner and, removing the attachment from the end of the hose, stuck the hose into the cage. Just then the phone rang and with the distraction of the answering of the phone she lost her grip on the hose and it settled right on the bird and away he went. Realizing what she had done, the bird owner dropped the phone, turned off the vacuum and fearfully opened the bag. Thank God the parakeet was alive, but stunned and filthy. She quickly grabbed the bird, ran to the bathroom, turned on the large faucet in the bathtub and proceeded to hold him under the water. Then she realized that her bird was gasping for air as well as shivering. So she reached for her hair dryer and put it on high, and hot air blasted him the parakeet. He never knew what hit him. Oh, he lived, but he never sang much. After that he just sort of sat there and stared. His life had been changed by an unexpected crisis. You see, change is inevitable when a crisis invades your life. Welcome to another episode of it's a Single Mom Thing.
Speaker 1:So I opened up our time together with that parakeet story because actually I think it's kind of funny and it really is a great example of the great lengths that we go to to correct our mistakes. I mean, in this case, the owner who sucked up the bird with her vacuum actually went to such great lengths to undo her mistakes. She actually put the bird underwater and then thought it was a good idea to use a hot hairdryer to dry him out. I mean, that little bird had to have been so wiped out and he probably had no idea what hit him.
Speaker 1:But as solo parrots, you know, how many times do we look back on our life and feel like we don't know what hit us? You see, in life we have the my bad, their bad and the too bad. So let's first look at the my bad and I am perfectly okay with using myself as the example here. My bad, these are the missteps or mistakes that I made. You see, as a young adult, I felt bad about myself and about every decision I made in my life that went bad to include the decision to get married. You see, at that time I struggled with a deep depression, a lack of identity, and had little to no confidence that I could make a good decision, but others could certainly make good decisions for me. So listening to the good opinions of others and not having a relationship with Christ is what eventually ended the relationship with my husband at the time. Then there was their bad, and that's what's done by someone else. In short, this is what was done to those close to me who also had the very same things done to them, and then to them, the baton of the bad things that were passed down and then passed on from one generation to the next. Then there is the too bad, and that is the season of life that is just that too bad. It has nothing to do with their bad or my bad, it's just too bad.
Speaker 1:I think we've all been there, and especially during COVID, and maybe some of you are there right now, much like the vacuum cleaner that sucked up that poor little bird. It happens quickly and often without notice, and then we find ourselves dirty and delirious, trying to figure out what just happened. I mean, can anyone relate? You see that parakeet survived, but his life had been changed by an unexpected crisis. So let's look at resilience and how that can maybe help us in a crisis. So what is resilience? Resilience is the core strength you use to lift the load of life. Now, those of you that like to exercise, like I do, know that our core helps us to hold us upright, and if our core is strong, we can carry heavy things, balance more weight and recover faster when other areas are not working to capacity. You see, resilience is not what happens to us, but how we respond to what happens to us. Now, I don't know about you, but I have had plenty of times where the wind got knocked out of me and where I didn't know whether I was going to recover or even bounce back.
Speaker 1:And here's where I'm going to share a little bit of my story with you. You see, as a young adult, I didn't grow up thinking, yeah, I want to be a single parent one day. I mean, who does that? Up thinking, yeah, I want to be a single parent one day? I mean, who does that? On the contrary, like most of us, probably including you, I grew up with dreams and aspirations. I had goals and intentions for my life. I had a vision for my future that did include marriage, a home, kids, a career, travel, so on and so forth.
Speaker 1:You see, the thing is is that I grew up in a home that didn't express or show love. I knew I was loved. I had a good childhood, but I didn't have a good example of what love looks like, but I always wanted it and I always wanted to give it. My parents had been married 30 years and certainly knew about love. So, of course, encouraging me to get married was the right thing, even if I was in the wrong relationship, right? You see, as someone who, at the time, didn't have the love of the father in her life, I had a my bad and made a world of wrong choices that would include a failed marriage, until I found Christ in my crisis.
Speaker 1:The questions we have to ask ourselves are do I want to be a victim of my crisis or do I want to be a survivor of it? You see, resilience is a choice. We all have regrets, some like me, choices that have taken us on a detour from God's best. But hear this you can't rewind, there's only redemption. A redeemed life is even better than a rewind because through it Jesus shows hope to others who feel their mistakes have left them unqualified for significance and service. Jesus didn't come because we have it all together and never get ourselves in messy circumstances of our own making. He came because we blow it like all the time, both intentionally and unintentionally. You see, for me, after a divorce, seven years of raising my son on my own, I found Christ in the crisis, in my decision to choose death. He gave me life. He turned my trials into triumphs. He loved me and taught me how to give and receive love with no conditions. God used my past for a purpose and my single moments to help the next single parent with their my bad moment.
Speaker 1:So I want you to think about the decisions that have caused you maybe to cringe. Are you living in regret? Because, let me tell you, if you are, the enemy has no problem using it like a megaphone to announce it. We need to let it go and move on. We need to really quit wasting time going back over things that we can't change. We need to quit thinking in reverse and not moving forward in fear. You see, life is a series of endings and a series of beginnings, and if we keep looking back, it's a series of endings. We need to look ahead, that something great is coming. Are you looking for a rewind? I mean, I don't know about you, but I would not choose to go back to where I came from and take it from me as someone who has wasted many of years repeating the past, mistakes from the past. We are not defined by our last mistake. Don't fail to prepare for what's next because you're trying to get what was, or are you maybe at a place where you want to become stronger and you're looking to help someone else, maybe the single parent who is behind you? You see, when we receive God's mercy, we become resilient and we can determine to get back up and move forward in another direction. Others will then start to believe that there is hope for them to do the same thing. So here are some things that we need to remember. One we need to ask ourselves how would I handle this if someone was asking me for advice?
Speaker 1:Oftentimes, we act and react differently when someone asks us for advice. For me, there was a time that I didn't think I had any value or anything worthy to say that would encourage me, or another person worthy to say that would encourage me, or another person, until I started to share how God singled me out, when I found the relationship that was looking for me, jesus. He used and is using right now as I speak to you, my singleness, my single mom thing, did not become the single thing that stopped me. It actually started me. It started to grow my resilience muscle that got strong, more developed, toned and defined every time I shared with another.
Speaker 1:And what exactly did I share? Oh yeah, I shared the my bads, the their bads and the two bads. And you know he used all those bads for my good and the plans that he has for me. And he has them for you too, and he says it in his word in Jeremiah 29, 11, and you know it. It says for I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope.
Speaker 1:So here's where I want to close our time together. I want us to focus on resilience, the process and the outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. So to go back to the parakeet, who never knew what hit him oh yeah, I remember he lived, but he never sang much after that. He just kind of sat there on his perch and just stared. His life had been changed by an unexpected crisis. Our lives, too, will continue to be changed by unexpected crisis, but resilience is a choice that I challenge you to make so you, unlike the bird, can continue to chirp it out.
Speaker 1:So, after listening to this podcast, do you want more and want to work on your core, wanting to learn more about how you can lift the heavy load of life as a single parent? Then pop over to Shepherds Village University at wwwsvorg. There we developed a series of self-paced faith learning e-courses. You're just going to love the focus learning tracks that we've developed just for you. Choose from essential life skills, healthy parenting, financial freedom and spiritual wisdom. It's a simple click and then you're on to your course. Are you in a difficult situation right now and want to find Christ in your crisis? Give us a call at 855-822-PRAY. We're here for you day or night. Have a wonderful week and remember it's a single mom thing and not the single thing that stops you. Thanks for listening to it's a single mom thing. I hope you enjoyed our time together. If you have more questions on how to have a relationship with jesus or need prayer, visit us at wwwshepherdsvillagecom. Backslash prayer. For more information and resources, check out our show notes.