Acceptance

Dear Single Mom,

I know it is not easy. I know how hard it is. I understand your frustration. This was not part of our plan. The lack of acceptance consumed my mind with negative thoughts and emotions. But the reality is... I am single and a mother. I have a big support system and there were many times where I felt and sometimes still do feel alone. Honestly, there is no way of understanding a single mom experience, until it happens. I remember nights where I cried my heart out for God to fix it. I somehow felt ashamed and embarrassed so I tried to make a failing relationship work, over and over again. I decided to walk away from my relationship but in doing so, I found myself lost, more than ever. I tried to fill the void on my own. I made sense of it by telling myself that I am still young and I deserve to have fun. BUT all this “fun” and something was still missing. I did not feel complete. I realized I pushed God so far away.

I decided to give my life back to Christ and put all my trust in Him. I say back because I was raised Christian and through this whole process, I know that God never left me. If you are Christian then you know exactly what I mean but if you are not, let me explain what I mean by giving my life back to Christ. It means that I have made the decision to make God number one in everything I do. It means that I will chase after him, even if I feel like my world is falling apart. It means that I will willingly live a life to please him. I have fully accepted that my life is not my own. I also realized that once I accepted the fact that I was a single mother and did not have that “picture-perfect life," I had more time to focus on other important things in life. Think of being a single mom as a situation, instead of a label and that situations are what you make of them. No one can define who we are, but our Father. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6. We are who He says we are, regardless of our situations. Do not be defined as a single mother; you are so much more. You are the daughter of the one true King. Stay strong and walk with your head held high!

Signed with acceptance,

Julie Cruz