As the sun began to sneak a peek through the horizontal lines of my mini blinds, I was reminded that another hectic day awaited me. It wasn’t easy being an early bird and a night owl in the same skin, but as a single mom who was struggling to be all and do all, I didn’t have any other choice.
Each day held its own basket full of burdens for a girl who wore too many hats and juggled too many plates.
An overflowing to-do list is a constant in any mother’s life. There is breakfast to cook, lunches to pack, day care drop offs and school bus pick-ups; there is dinner to prepare, a house to clean, laundry to wash and trips to the grocery store; there are doctor appointments, dentist appointments, field trips and open house; there are baseball practices, piano recitals, church plays and time to help with homework. Not to mention the full time job.
So, how does a single mom do it all? The answer is, she can’t.
She needs help! You may not even be aware that she needs help, but she does. You look at her and she seems to have it all together but she doesn’t. She’s sinking. Sometimes she feels like she can’t even catch her breath.
Every night, she tucks her little one in bed and begins to play catch up with the household chores while her body is crying out for rest and her heart is crying out for help.
And that’s where you come in. Yeah – you. Her friend. Perhaps her mentor. But definitely you!
You may not be sure how you can help, so The M.O.M. Initiative is providing you with 10 ways you can help a single mom. I know it may be a little inconvenient and may require a bit of a sacrifice, but you will be ministering to her heart more than you can imagine.
- Offer to babysit even if she has nowhere to go. Whether she chooses to go off with friends or stay home and sleep or just watch a movie, your offer to babysit will give her some desperately needed down time.
- Make her a meal and have it ready when she gets home from work. Knowing she doesn’t have to cook when she walks in the door will lighten her load immensely.
- Pay for her to have a manicure or pedicure and watch her children while she enjoys a little pampering. Single moms rarely get an opportunity to enjoy those types of things.
- Take her and her children to a local park, zoo, lake or beach to enjoy time together.
- Throw her a surprise party and/or bake her a cake to celebrate her for all she does.
- Help her children make homemade cards to tell her how much they love and appreciate her.
- Give her a gift certificate to have her car tuned up.
- Offer to let her give you the money for her groceries, along with a grocery list and save her a trip to the store. She still pays, but you save her the time and inconvenience of doing the grocery shopping. (If your budget allows, let that grocery trip be on you)
- Clean her house while she’s at work.
- Plan an all day outing to some of her favorite places and take care of all the details for her…including finding a baby sitter.
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