Hagar's Well- Resources for the Single Mom

Genesis 21:19 And God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water..

I was a single mom for about ten years. Early in that leg of my journey, I made a commitment to Christ and started attending a vibrant church. Thankfully, I received solid teaching directly from the word and I learned to look to God as my provider.

At the time, I had a high school diploma, no skills beyond food service and basic customer service, and I had no plan. I had a job, but minimum wage was never meant to provide support for a family.  I depended on public assistance to supplement my meager income.

In the early 90's, there was a prosperity message that ran rampant in Pentecostal churches. The basic premise is solid-- God doesn't intend for His people to live in lack. Unfortunately, the message was often misunderstood.  God wants you to be rich!  You can claim your new car/house or whatever your heart desires!  Some people stopped focusing on God and started focusing on the 'stuff' they expected to gain.

As a new Christian, and as a mom who was barely making enough to cover the basics in life,  I was momentarily caught up in this twisted form of doctrine. I wanted a miracle! I wanted to open my mailbox and find a check for a large sum. I wanted a rich (handsome) man to sweep me off my feet and marry me. Maybe I could win the lottery or a rich relative would pass away and leave me their fortune. (Note: I have no rich relatives.)  You get the idea, I expected God to miraculously make me prosperous and I was waiting expectantly for that to happen.

One day, I was reading in Genesis about Hagar, the first single mother mentioned in the bible. She was left in the wilderness with her child and quickly ran out of resources. She'd been completely abandoned and feared her child was dying. Not wanting to witness her son's death, she placed him under a bush and left. Imagine yourself in her place! Imagine placing your child in another room because you didn't want to watch him die. Hagar cried out to God and he took compassion upon the child. The scripture says that God opened Hagar's eyes and she saw a well. That well saved their lives!

I studied that passage for a long time. It doesn't say that God miraculously created the well, and He certainly could have done that,  instead it says that He opened her eyes and caused her to see the well. In other words, the well was already there but she needed the Lord's direction to locate it. The resources she needed were already available but without God's leading she and her child would have perished! 

That revelation changed my life. I stopped looking for the miracle and started looking to my God for direction. Through His leading I began babysitting and cleaning houses to make ends meet. The schedule worked well to balance taking care of my children and soon I started attending college classes. A few years later, I earned my undergraduate degree and was hired for a professional position that paid three times the amount that I'd previously lived on.

It was not a quick and easy journey and there were many bumps along the way, but I give every bit of glory to my God for making my path straight. He opened my eyes and showed me the well!

If you have a need in your life today, I encourage you to look to our Lord.  Ask Him to show you the well!

Fight for the Dream

Dreams are fragile. We have our hopes and goals, but all too quickly they are often thwarted by (what we perceive to be) reality. If you have the courage to voice your dreams, there's a good chance some well-meaning soul will quickly tell you all the reasons why it's not a possibility. 

We have a choice; we can allow the dreams to die or we can fight for them.  I hope you'll choose the latter.  Dreams are worth the fight!  Don't give them up! It takes patience, focus and work to realize a dream.  There will be places along the way where giving up will seem like the logical thing to do.  Defy logic and keep moving forward.  

I've had the privilege to see some of my dreams come to fruition. I'll share one with you.  I went to community college as an 'adult learner' and was the oldest student in most of my classes.  My time at this college changed my life in dramatic ways.  I credit some excellent teachers that were a part of this path.  After I graduated, I dreamed of coming back to that college as a teacher.  At the time, it seemed completely impossible, but I gently tucked the dream into the a safe corner of my heart.  

A few years later I started to ponder this dream. I was not happy in my current position and I started to investigate the possibility of teaching. I learned that I needed a Master's degree to be qualified.  I immediately researched programs in my area and within two weeks, I was enrolled in evening classes.  18 months later, I graduated.  

At the time, I was employed, making decent money and there were no teaching positions available on the college website.  I checked from time to time, but found nothing that matched my qualifications.  The dream began to fade and I started to wonder if I had wasted my time and money earning the graduate degree.  

Then, some unexpected things happened.  I had a health crisis that forced me to leave my job for a couple months. After I was cleared to return to work, I decided I couldn't handle the idea of returning to a job I hated.  My husband was patient and gave me some time to find a new position because we couldn't afford to live on a single income. 

And then, a miracle happened!  I received an email alert about an adjunct position at the college I had attended. I eagerly applied and prayed they would call me for an interview.  Two days later, they called!  I interviewed, was hired, and then taught my first class by the end of the week.  MY DREAM CAME TRUE!

It took nearly ten years for my dream to become reality.  I've been teaching for a few years now, still part-time, and I absolutely love it. I wake up on Mondays with excitement in my heart.  I love to go to work. My students are important to me and I am honored to speak into their lives.  Many stay in touch and I love to see where their paths lead.  I encourage them to keep dreaming.  

I'm still dreaming.