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
SPECIAL EPISODE: Struggles to Strength, Serving in the Storm
In this special episode of It’s a Single Mom Thing, we explore how, even in the toughest storms—whether literal or emotional—God can use you to serve others. As single moms, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by life’s challenges, but sometimes the best way to find strength and peace is by reaching out to help someone else. Join Sherry as she unpacks the power of serving during difficult seasons, and how focusing on others can lift you through your own storm. Whether you're lending a hand to a friend, your kids, or your local church community, God’s grace flows through the act of giving.
Tune in for encouragement, practical ways to serve, and a reminder that you’re never alone in the storm.
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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. Well, hello my fellow solo peeps and welcome to another episode of it's a Single Mom Thing. So today we're talking about a powerful truth that may hit close to home for some of you listening how, even in the middle of life storms, god can use us to serve others. As single moms.
Speaker 1:It's easy to feel overwhelmed when everything around us seems chaotic, right, especially after a literal storm like a hurricane that just ripped through the region where I live. But I want to encourage you today with this Sometimes the best way to find strength in the storm is by stepping out and serving someone else in theirs. I can't explain it, but there is something supernatural in this process where we find healing, purpose and a reminder that we're not alone in this journey and, oddly enough, we can find joy serving someone other than ourselves. We often think that in the midst of a storm, the focus should be on survival, on keeping our heads above water and getting through it as solo parents. Well, that's instinctively what we know how to do. And while that's certainly important, there's another layer to consider. Even in the storm, god calls us to serve. I know it may sound counterintuitive, but when we shift our focus from what we can't control to what we can do for someone else, we often find that serving others brings us a sense of peace and purpose that helps us weather the storm that just made a mess of our own lives. Be the light to somebody else's shadow. Listen, if you want a natural way to comfort your anxiety and pain, connect yourself to your true power source by serving.
Speaker 1:Serving, quicker than a pill, shifts your focus from fear to faith. When you choose to serve someone other than yourself, it's not just about meeting their needs, it's about refocusing your heart. Storms, whether literal or figurative, can make us feel helpless, but helping someone else well, that allows you to move out of fear and into faith. It reminds you that in Christ you are never powerless, because he is the power in you. You can be the light to somebody else's shadow, especially when the power goes out. The mere act of serving that pulls you out of the overwhelming sense of what's happening to me and into a place where you see God working through you to affect the we. Pretty soon you have to forget about the fear that was affecting you as you now have shifted into faith Now. I tend to think that that's why God has called us to be his hands and feet, to be his church outside the confines of the church walls, as it gets us beyond our own walls, of the church walls, as it gets us beyond our own walls.
Speaker 1:Recently, I had the privilege to be the church in our community, helping others clearing out their homes as we drag their belongings and their memories to the curb. Everything in their homes, from the floor to the ceiling, was damaged from the flooded waters that flooded their homes and their hearts with unspeakable grief. It's one thing to see the impact of a hurricane on the news or on a reel on social media, but it becomes unreal and a whole nother next level experience when you experience in person, alongside the person you are serving. As this was a huge storm, the need is also huge and overwhelming in my community, just as it is throughout the whole southeastern region of the United States. As one individual, I could easily think well, what could I do to make a dent in the pile of devastation that surrounded me, but as one person part of a church. Well, we, including me, could do a lot, one house at a time.
Speaker 1:You see, as soon as the storm blew through, our church mobilized teams and busloads of church members quickly, some of which who have lost their own homes, as we were headed out to the barrier islands to help others that lost theirs. We had no plan, but trusted in God's plan to love others and go. Go and help church members who asked for help, while being a light in a community that was now filled with darkness. And where did we go? To the beaches that you've heard about in prior podcasts. That once was my place of solace, now a war zone. Not looking how. I last remembered it five days prior.
Speaker 1:If I'm honest, my heart was anxious as the bus started to go over the bridge from the safety of where I lived to the island that was once my safety in the storms of my life, afraid of what I'd see. Moreover, I was unsettled, not knowing what I could do to be of service, not knowing if I had the emotional strength to carry out the task. As soon as we were cleared by the police checkpoint, I too had to check my spirit, as I knew it was only God that was going to give us the physical, emotional and spiritual strength that this mixed bag of passengers on a church bus could do to impact our community beyond their belief. Healing through helping. When we serve others, we find that we are the ones being uplifted in return. There's just something about stepping into someone else's story that reminds us of the strength God gives us to endure our own storms as a team. We were quickly reminded of this as soon as the bus doors opened and our feet hit the ground. I can't explain it. It's like something just took over in our spirit to give us the strength of the challenges we soon would face. Instantly, we were united as one body as we linked shields, so to speak. As we carried out our marching orders, we were immediately welcomed by an unexpected church family whose home wasn't too terribly affected, letting us use their home as our home base, as they were excited to see us on their island. From there, our six teams were mobilized into the beach community to over 10 homes of church members who had asked for help, with water backpacks and rakes in hand to help all those who felt helpless.
Speaker 1:We headed down the sand-strewn streets amongst miles and piles of beach sand, countless bulldozers, dump and sanitation trucks. There were tow trucks after tow trucks picking up parked cars no longer drivable. We were overwhelmed by the amount of debris everywhere, some of which you couldn't even imagine how it got there. As you passed by each house, you could see the water lines left on each house as the storm had left its mark. As we would pass by each house, you could see the exhaustion and sheer desperation as the homeowners would gaze at us in utter despair. And then, suddenly, off in the distance, coming towards us, you could hear this honking horn as one lady yelled out her car window Yay, my church family is here. Thank you, just the encouragement we needed as we walked into the unknown, careful with each step we took. We took them all together as we were about to step into somebody else's story.
Speaker 1:After an 11-minute walk, we arrived at our first home. There were 20 of us from this one busload ready to go to work. As we approached the home, we were greeted by a mother and her six-year-old daughter. Her father, unfortunately, was in another city as work called him elsewhere. On their own, this dynamic duo of two already started to bag up everything they once identified with uncertain what to keep and what to let go of. Both were thankful we were there, but for the young girl it was just too much to bear, leaving with a friend who came to get her. After just two hours of work, we successfully cleared her home. Although her heart was heavy looking at her life strewn across her lawn, she was grateful for the community that came alongside her as she was now able to take the next step in her journey and she knew she wasn't going to do it alone.
Speaker 1:This was just one of many stories that we walked into that day, my personal storm, and are learning how to rebuild your life, just like my neighbors down the street. Funny how, although the story is told differently, the storyline is the same, in that you too just might have a way to help another and heal your own hurt in the process. Really, you may not know it, but you listening right now, you have inside of you compassion and empathy that can bless the socks off another person right now who, too, finds themselves in survival mode. Families without homes, shattered memories, broken dreams, hungry, frustrated, without jobs, without insurance to rebuild, families who need families like you to come alongside them, because only you have what they need. This is being the church, and what better time than like this At a time when your community, our country, our world has faced so many uncertain futures in the last couple of years? What better time to be the salt and light to a world that is hurting for some salt water that just destroyed their world, a world that is hungry, a world that is desperate for the help you have found? You can help them find it too.
Speaker 1:Jesus served others in the storm. Even when we feel drained or overwhelmed, we can ask God to give us the strength to pour out the love to others, knowing that he will refill us. So we, like Jesus, can serve others in the storm. If you've been in the boat for a long time with Jesus, now is the time to get out and share a kind word to rebuke the storms others around you may be facing right now. Others around you may be facing right now. Remember in Matthew 8, 23 to 27, how Jesus calmed the storm while still thinking of the needs of his disciples.
Speaker 1:Jesus teaches us that, no matter the chaos around us, we can still serve with love and compassion, even in your own personal storm, or even if you were affected by this storm that I have spoken of. You can show Christ in the crisis. This world is hurting and they are looking for hope right now. They are waiting for you to share it with them. They are waiting for you to share what you have. Maybe it's as simple as checking in on a neighbor offering help to a fellow single mom, or sharing what little you have with someone in need. Small acts of kindness go a long way in a time of crisis. Or maybe it's someone that gave to you, blessing you when you started your solo journey. That is the person. Now. You, in turn, are called to bless them back.
Speaker 1:You know, I have sometimes found that the most beautiful part of serving in the storm is realizing that you're not in this alone. When you extend a hand to help someone else, you're reminded of the community that surrounds you, the people who are also walking through their own storms. It becomes think of it like this a mutual exchange of support, compassion and faith. And here's the truth Even when you feel like you have nothing left to give, god has a way of refilling your cup. Through the very act of serving, you begin to see that by helping someone else, you are also helping yourself heal and find peace In Christ. Even in the darkest storm, we are never truly alone. When we serve others, we reflect his love and we find that he is with us every step of the way.
Speaker 1:As we close today's episode, I want to remind you that storms, whether outside or in your heart, they don't last forever. But what does is the impact you make when you choose to serve others, even when you feel overwhelmed. When you serve through the storm, you reflect God's grace and love not only on those around you, but also to yourself. No matter what you're facing today, know that you have something to give, whether it's a kind word, a helping hand or simply your presence. Your service can change someone else's day and in doing so, it may just change yours.
Speaker 1:I encourage you to take a moment this week to ask God who can I serve in this season? I encourage you to take a moment this week to ask God who can I serve in this season? Maybe it's a neighbor, a friend, your own child, or maybe it's reaching out to your local church. So listen, whether you're seeking help or offering to lend a hand, the church is a place of community and support, especially in times like these. Especially in times like these. Sometimes the biggest act of service we can give is simply allowing ourselves to be of service to others. Remember, if you ever need support, our 24-hour prayer line is always here for you at 855-822-PRAY.
Speaker 1:And don't forget to join our it's a Single Mom thing class, where we walk through these storms together. For more information and inspiration, visit shepherdsvillagecom forward slash classes. Maybe you've been affected by the storm and you need some resources. You can also find that on our website at shepherdsvillagecom. Forward slash resources. Thank you for joining me today. Stay strong, keep the faith and remember you are never alone in the storm. 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.