Needing Support

Last night I was reminded of one of my struggles with being a single parent. I was lying in bed when a major thunderstorm went over our property. There was high wind, pounding rain, and extreme thunder and lightning. I have never been scared of storms, in fact I have always liked them, but last night as the storm was raging over my house I began to worry about the safety of my family and my home.

I looked up the weather report and found that there was a tornado watch in affect. I live in a manufactured home with no basement with very few neighbors, none of which I have close relationships with. I began to wonder, as I have many times in the past, what do I do with my family if there is at tornado? The few times there has been a tornado warning since I have lived here have been during the day and we went to my sister’s house to hide out in her basement but what would I do if there was a tornado at night? How long do I wait before waking my kids and seeking a safer place?

The part about this experience that was hard with being single was that there was no one to talk to about it. There was no one to bounce ideas off of. There was no one to comfort my fears as I wondered if my house was going to hold together or if my children would be safe. Yes, I had the comfort of the Holy Spirit as I prayed, but sometimes it would be nice to have someone physically here to put their arms around me when the storm is raging.

For the last few years I have had to become strong. Strong for my children, strong for myself. I have had to do things that I wasn’t so sure I could do on my own. At times I had to pretend that I was strong in order to convince myself that it was okay to keep breathing and moving forward. During this time I have convinced myself that I no longer had need of a man in my life. I think that initially I had to do that in order to be strong enough to leave the marriage, but have come to realize that I shouldn’t hold on to the false belief that I don’t need anyone.

I do need other people. I need conversation. I need support. I need love. I need companionship. I don’t have to do everything on my own. This is a hard transition to make. I don’t believe that God intended for us to go through this life alone. Relationships come in many different forms and as I struggle to allow myself to connect to other people, I hope and pray that I will find people who are trustworthy and good that can be there for me as I am there for them.

Who do you turn to for comfort and support?