Lesson #1-The Greatest Lesson I learned as a Single Mom

As women and especially moms we are always concerned about what comes first. Do I prepare the dinner 1st, help the kids with homework first, do the dishes first or get to my girls' crummy hair? Should I sit my tail down and pay these bills (first) or (first) spend time preparing school lunches so my mornings are easier? The decision-making process of a mom never ends and the battle for firsts is a battle with no intended sure-fire winners. As a single mom I can admit I struggle with how to choose-WHATS FIRST.

Even as I embark on writing my very first blog post I struggled to decide what to write about first. I thought about writing about my first experiences as a single mom or writing of my first unforgettable “terrible day” as a single mom (but with so many to choose from I chose to resist that one). Yet as I sat introspectively with my mind and heart, I knew that I wanted to be honest. I wanted to embrace that the greatest lesson I have ever learned in my life as a single parent is that I cannot do anything without starting everything with God.

What I am saying is GOD is my first and I have discovered that this is proper alignment of my life.

I wish I could say it has always been this way in my life, but it has not. I used to be that person that did not live with God at the forefront of my mind. Yes, I knew there was a God, but I was not concerned about living in a way that pleased him. I put everything before God without realizing what I was doing with all my life choices. As a child I was raised as a Muslim with an awareness of God, yet I did not understand that there was anything different to be found in true relationship with him. I knew what to do to please God (the one I had allegiance to at the time-ALLAH), but I did not exactly know how to become a better me. This to me was the biggest part of what lied missing between my knowing (about) God and my knowing him in a personal way. To know GOD personally is to gain the key to a fruitful life. I did not always know this but eventually I found out. I discovered through various situations that knowing God in a deeper way meant learning what it looked like to put God first and discovering the value that goes with it.

So here I am putting God first because I have learned that that is what works for my life. In all transparency I get anxious if I do not start everything with God nowadays. I am not perfect at it, putting God first is not some A-Z checklist that I can place stars in to say I’m covering all the bases, every aspect, and every detail. No, the contrary is true, putting God first is a very individualized process based on a person's situation, circumstances and where they are in growing relationship with God. Nevertheless, I try hard to pray and seek God about everything I’m doing. I read my Bible for accurate perceptions of concepts and things, I seek wise counsel from others and sometimes I even fast!

You see for me; I’m concerned about where I will end up without God's guidance. I hold to this deep unrelenting truth in my soul that every single person, thing, and idea has a unique purpose in GOD and without his guidance the journey to an intended destination will be hard, if not treacherous and can result in lots of precious time wasted. The Bible says it this way: For everything absolutely everything above and below visible and invisible...everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him (Colossians 1:16-Message Version) I like to think that that scripture applies to every aspect of my life and yours.

As single moms our birth was intentional, our tough journeys purposeful, our pains useful and our families needful.

I want to remember God at the beginning so when I’m in the middle I can simply reach over to grab his hand a little bit tighter when the road gets bumpy as I journey to my end. I’m grabbing him right now as I write this post and I feel his reassuring presence that all will be well. I invite you to grab hold of him too as you put him first and watch your fruitful life come into view. Dear Single Mom Sister it’s time to EVOLVE. What do you need to push aside to put God first? Is it people? Places? Things (like social media)? or is it unhealthy mindsets or unhealthy habits? What does put God first look like in a practical/logistical way? I will share on future posts things I have learned to help me put God first and I will give practical ideas how I did it as a single mom of multiples. I’m so excited to be on this journey with you. Let us keep in touch. Until then...Think About it...Then...Go...Grab Your Heels...Click Em’...And Give God Some Praise. He’s Worthy Love Mommy Shar xoxoxo