After discovering the odds were against me, I started praying Scriptures that contradicted the data. When Faith went to sleep at night, I knelt in her bedroom and prayed: Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and you will remain sexually pure.
Sometimes I laid my hands on her feet and said: His Word is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path; you will take the straight and narrow pathway in life. And I spent many years at her bedside praying against turbulent teen years. Today, Faith is a born-again, pageant type who loves youth ministry and cheerleading. We can always trust God to perform His Word.
Another important tool is training our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4). If we spend quality time instilling godly character through Bible study, loving discipline, church attendance and setting the right example, our children will beat the odds against growing up holy in a one-parent home.
Perhaps the most effective tool in reaching families headed by single moms is a single-parent ministry. Today, many churches are finding ways to help lighten the load with everything from Mom’s Day Out programs, free child care and food giveaways to free car repairs, support groups and job placement services. Such congregations are intentionally reaching the next generation by helping to equip, support and disciple single moms in faith and family life.
I know from experience that it’s not easy raising a child alone. But I also know that single moms can trust God to provide, through the church and other means, a well of spiritual water—like the natural well He showed Hagar in the wilderness—that will bring us hope as we seek to raise a chosen generation for Christ.
Valerie G. Lowe hosts the Harvest TV show. She served 14 years as an associate editor for Charisma magazine. She is also the founder of a ministry for single moms called Keep the Faith.
