My description reads “single homeschooling mom” and though I’ve never thought much about including more in that description, lately I have been thinking that maybe I should. After all, I make no secret that I am a Christian and my readership probably includes likeminded women, most of which homeschool. So, after ten years – this very month – I thought it finally time to share more about my “status.”
In March 2012, my husband called me into our bedroom and spoke two words that instantly seemed to cancel the two he’d said seventeen years prior at the altar with “I do.” He simply said, I’m done. And he was gone. Instantly, I went to a friend whose husband had left her, but had since returned. I asked her for the five point plan for getting your husband back. Instead, she spoke two words to me that over time cancelled out the painful ones that had just been delivered. She simply said, “Read Psalms.”
Instead, she spoke two words to me that over time cancelled out the painful ones that had just been delivered. She simply said, “Read Psalms.”
Like a sick person following a prescription, I followed her advise to the letter. I read then, wrote them, and even on particularly trying nights slept with my Bible open to Psalms, under my head like a pillow. What happened was a vibrant and thriving relationship with Jesus, who became not just my Savior, but my best friend.
I often use the term, “single but not by choice,” when I explain my situation. I wanted to keep my marriage. I understood that I had made a covenant. I believe that covenant is binding until death do you part. I knew God hates divorce (Malachi 2:16). It would have been rough, but I knew if I stood on the truth’s of God’s Word, He would bless and help. I continued to pray fervently for seven years for marriage restoration. However, seven years in, I stood on my front porch blasting Matthew West’s song, “The God Who Stays,” on his wedding day to someone else. I don’t know why God didn’t answer that prayer, but I do know that He will not withhold good from those who walk uprightly, so I believe restoration would not have been a good thing.
“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 84:11
So how did I make ends meet?
As a full-time homeschooling mama, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do or if I would be able to continue to homeschool. Truly by God’s grace, He opened doors one step at a time, which allowed me to do just that. First, there was the opportunity to become an ESL tutor for Korean women, the wives of employees at the newly opened Kia Manufacturing Plant near me. Then, there was the part-time Preschool Director job at my church. Then, there was teaching online. Today, I teach online full-time, write, blog, and operate a Youtube channel. It’s been amazing to see how God met our needs every single step of the way. I could write volumes of His provision. Even in the most impossible of situations, He always made a way.
So here I sit. Ten years later, this month. My children who were 8 and 10 are not 18 and 20. Both are in college. I homeschooled them the whole way from preschool through high school. And through it all, my prayer has remained, “Praise God to whom all blessings flow!”
Thank you for your awesome testimony of God’s Grace and provision. I can totally relate to much of what you’ve said. Thank you for sharing.
Thank you, Dawn. Couldn’t have made it without Him! 🙂