One afternoon while playing at a local park my oldest son got locked in one of the bathrooms. He was playing on the slide with his brother when suddenly he ran by me yelling that he had to go. About 10 minutes later I realized that he hadn’t made it back to the park so I went to check on him. He was sitting on the floor of the bathroom right by the door, crying because he couldn’t get out. He had tried calling for me but soon realized that I couldn’t hear him. So he started to cry.

It took about 5 more minutes to get the door open and my son into my arms so I could wipe his tears away and hug him. When he finally did get out he said “Mommy I was crying because I was scared, but I knew that God would save me. I prayed for Him to send you to get me out. I knew He could hear me even if you couldn’t.”

How will your children know what to do during hard times unless you model a godly response? | www.themobsociety.com

How will your children know what to do during hard times unless you model a godly response? | www.themobsociety.com

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Prayers from the Bathroom Floor

I often ask God why I’ve had to walk the long, hard road of being a single mom.  It’s a lot of work. I’m constantly exhausted, I have very little time for myself and I always feel like I’m one step from either losing my sanity or ruining my boys permanently.  I remember many nights locking myself in the bathroom, turning on the exhaust fan and crying my eyes out.  “Why, Lord? Why me? I can’t see a way out of this situation. There’s no one to help me.”

Have you been there before dear friend? Are you there now?

When my son found himself in scary situation at the playground he did the one thing that he knew would save him. He literally cried out to God for help. How did he know to do that?

From his mommy. That broken, weary woman that sat on her own bathroom floor in despair had taught her son to cry out to the One who could always hear him.  That day at the playground God answered my prayers of desperation from the bathroom floor.

Why me?

Because my boys need to know that when things are as bad as they can get, there’s always hope to be found in our heavenly Father.

A Shift In Focus

I have learned that God uses the hard things in our lives to bring us into a closer relationship with Him.  I firmly believe that God has great plans and purpose for my life, but the only way that I’m going to get there is by staying as close to God as I can get on this side of Heaven.   As you spend more time in prayer at the throne and digging into God’s word your focus will change from all the bad and hard stuff that’s going on towards the One that can see you through it all.

I know that we sometimes think that we don’t have the time for prayer and Bible study but the truth is that we have to make time.  Even if it’s just a few minutes a day. Some time with God is way better than none at all.  Here are some tips to help you make the most of your time with God:

  1. Keep all your supplies in one place. I have a quiet time basket with everything that I need for devotions and prayer
  2. Listen to the Word:  I have a Bible app on my kindle and my phone that lets me listen to scripture when I’m on the go. I listen while I do laundry, get dressed, cook dinner or while I’m driving in the car
  3. Bookend your day with God: I try not to let my feet hit the floor in the morning or my head hit the pillow at night until I’ve spent a few minutes in scripture and prayer. It doesn’t have to be very long. Sometimes I find one verse and I read it, turn it into a prayer and meditate on it all day long.

A prayer for you:  Dear Lord, life gets hard and messy and sometimes we put you on the back burner. Forgive us Lord and help us to find our way closer to you.  Open our minds and our hearts to your grace and love.  Draw us closer to you so that we can point our boys in the right direction when troubles come in their lives. Amen.