“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow” (Deuteronomy 10:18, NIV).
I really admire responsible single parents. Some of my best friends are single moms. They work all day and then go home to be father and mother to their children. They are the financial heads, the spiritual heads and the decision makers for their families. What a hard job to do alone!
Yet, my single friends are some of the best mothers I know. My respect for them knows no bounds.
Not everyone respects single parents. There are those who criticize a woman whose husband leaves her. They say things like “she nagged him so much he had to leave.” Some people criticize women who leave their husbands. They say, “There is no reason a woman should ever leave her husband.” Others harshly judge women who get pregnant when they are not married.
The truth is, none of us really knows anyone else’s entire story. In Proverbs King Solomon put it this way: “Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.”
Did you know God has committed himself to helping single mothers? The verse at the top of this page means that God leaps to the defense of the single mother. Let us treat her with kindness and respect. Let us quit criticizing and start helping!
Kimberly Snider is a missionary to the Philippines.
From “Moments for Moms,” a free email subscription.
Copyright (c) 2005 Women’s Ministries of the Assemblies of God.
http://www.ag.org/womensministries