Article July 18, 1994 Issue

Single parenting under God's care

Ann Weber Benson

I Was a single parent for about ten years. But strange as it may seem, I never really thought of myself in typical terms as either "single" or as a "parent"! Let me explain. Although I had a child in my care, I've always known that God was my Father and Mother, my only real Parent and my child's only real Parent.

This confidence in God came as I was growing up. My father passed on when I was five years old, and my mother never remarried. But since she had taught us to know God as our Father and Mother, we never felt as though we came from a single-parent household. Nor did we feel our resources were limited or that we lacked a "fathering" presence.

What would permit a child to feel such completeness? A knowledge of one's Father-Mother God and a dependence not on person, but on God, for all one's needs. The trouble with looking to a person for happiness, for food and shelter, love and comfort, is that this person may disappoint us in some way or leave our lives. But when we see that the source of all good is our Father-Mother God, good becomes ever available and is never dependent on a person. This brings us peace and stability.

Send a comment to the editors