Serving and sharing what we have with moms around us will often disrupt our lives on some level, but God can use it in incredible ways for his kingdom.

In the darkness of grief and suffering, Christmas is our promise of Light. Jesus—the Dawn from on High—has come to redeem and restore all things.

Christmas as a single mom brings unique sorrows and pressures, but through it all, we are held by Emmanuel—the God who is “with us.”

When we feel the inadequacy of being the only one raising our kids, we cling to the only One strong enough to supply our needs—our faithful heavenly Father.

The simple truths of the gospel are for our children and us—and they bring us hope on our hardest days.

Grief can make way for a deeper experience of gospel hope this Christmas season, as we hold tight to Immanuel—God with us.

Through the uncertainties and limitations of single motherhood, we can trust that God goes with us—and he will always be enough.

As we interact with single brothers and sisters, we can point our kids to the beauty and opportunity of their unique calling.

In the pain and loneliness of single parenting, time in God’s Word powerfully shapes our prayers and strengthens our hearts.

While some aspects of motherhood are universal, there are unique ways we can intentionally care for single moms.

While statistics about kids with single parents may strike fear in a mother’s heart, we can find comfort in this—statistics have nothing on the gospel.

I know what it’s like to be a mom.

When I was 17, I got pregnant. Right after graduation, I was married, and then about a year later I was divorced. I know what it’s like to be a single mom with a little one to care for; to struggle to balance work and college and mothering and the laundry and…and….

Then, right about the time I turned 21, the Lord graciously saved me.

After a few years in church, I married Phil, who became dad to my little guy. Soon, we had two kids of our own: Three kids, one husband, two dogs…and chickens.

As I look back on those days, I’ll admit that there were plenty of times when I felt completely overwhelmed and alone. I frequently felt like I was drowning.

I’m sure, had you asked me, I knew the Lord was with me, but I’m not sure that I knew how near he was, how much he understood, or how that understanding would have transformed my daily experiences of isolation, irritation, exhaustion, and hopelessness.

Jesus knows what living a boring daily grind is like. He also knows what it’s like to have tired feet, and to feel overwhelmed, to be exhausted, as though you never get a moment to yourself. And (single moms this is just for you!), he also knows what it is like to be the single head of a household.

What do you suppose his life of sawing wood, hammering nails, striving for holiness, loving his neighbor, longing for a bride, was like? It was just like yours. He isn’t ‘out of touch with our reality.’

Get that. He knows what it is to live the life you’re living.

Except, of course, he didn’t sin.

His obedience means first, that he was qualified to bear the punishment for our sin and secondly, that his perfect record of always having obeyed is yours and mine right now.

And that, dear sisters, means that every time you need help, every time you feel like you’re just not going to make it, every time that child needs something again, you’ve got a friend in really high places. He understands what you’re going through and he’s promised to be there with you, supplying all the grace you actually need for that day.

He gets it. He gets you.

Better yet…you get him.