PARENTING & FAMILY
How can I deal with the challenges of being a single parent?

(Philippians 4:10-20)
Invite help from people around you, and give your help to them.
No doubt about it, single parenting is tough because you have no consistent partner with which to share things. There's no one else in your house to exclaim over the delightful antics of your child. There's no one to share decision making or to contribute energy to the tiring but fulfilling privilege of parenting. But you're far from alone. You have a huge extended family from which to draw acclamation, decision making, and energy. This is your church family. Invite their support while you give them yours.

Inviting support from your church family won't necessarily come instantly or easily, however. It's similar to marriage in that you need to make others aware of your needs. A friend at church won't know you want to brag about your child unless you do! Nor will she know you need encouragement during a tiring week unless you let her know you're weary. Find one or two same-sex friends you can trust and risk telling them what you need. At the same time, be a friend who's willing to give what other parents need. You'll be energized through both giving and receiving. And in the process, you'll all show each other the love of Christ. You'll be the vehicle through whom Jesus meets needs (4:19). (See also 1 Kings 17:8-16; Psalm 71:1-6; Psalm 138.)

Words to remember:
The Lord has made me very grateful that at last you have thought about me once again. Actually, you were thinking about me all along, but you didn't have any chance to show it.—Philippians 4:10

Philippians 4:10-20
Paul Gives Thanks for the Gifts He Was Given
¹⁰The Lord has made me very grateful that at last you have thought about me once again. Actually, you were thinking about me all along, but you didn't have any chance to show it. ¹¹I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. ¹²I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. ¹³Christ gives me the strength to face anything.

¹⁴It was good of you to help me when I was having such a hard time. ¹⁵My friends at Philippi, you remember what it was like when I started preaching the good news in Macedonia. After I left there, you were the only church that became my partner by giving blessings and by receiving them in return. ¹⁶Even when I was in Thessalonica, you helped me more than once. ¹⁷I am not trying to get something from you, but I want you to receive the blessings that come from giving.

¹⁸I have been paid back everything, and with interest. I am completely satisfied with the gifts that you had Epaphroditus bring me. They are like a sweet-smelling offering or like the right kind of sacrifice that pleases God. ¹⁹I pray that God will take care of all your needs with the wonderful blessings that come from Christ Jesus! ²⁰May God our Father be praised forever and ever. Amen.

These excerpts are from The Bible for Today's Christian Woman. This Bible is no longer in print. But new this month is the Woman's Life Bible, which includes the same great features for today's busy woman. Click here to purchase the Woman's Life Bible.

Copyright © 2001 by the author or Christianity Today, Inc. All rights reserved. Excerpted from The Bible for Today's Christian Woman, CEV, pages 1373-1374. Used by permission. For reprint information call 630-260-6200.