Ten years ago I would have never considered myself as the type of woman that could inspire others. The reason being is I never saw myself as unique or special. I would just blend into the crowd and do whatever made me happy with little thought or consideration for what was going on around me.
The my life changed the moment I became a single mother. As soon as I got pregnant I had to learn to be different. I had always considered myself a Christian, but I never really looked at myself or even felt that God could use me to do something great.
Before having my son I never had the chance to really sit down and think about what I was doing and how it would impact my life. When I became a mother, my son’s father was not there for me. Even if he wanted to change his mind, it was not possible because after my son was born he got into some trouble and went to prison. This is where he would stay for the next 6 years.
I always wondered why God has put me in such a “lonely” position. I would come to learn that me sitting at home with my son would give me room to think. I thought about my life, how I was not doing anything significant, and I thought about my son’s life.
It was through this time, in which I decided to make a complete a total change. I knew I could not go on living an empty and meaningless life that I was used to. The times I was lonely and had no one to talk to, I spoke to God. All of the sudden, an amazing thing happened, God began to speak back.
God did not tell me my destiny all at once, instead He told me things on a need to know basis. The first direction He gave me was to go back to school, and He told me to focus on the counseling profession. I had no choice but to follow. When my son was four years old, I completed my Master’s degree in marriage and family therapy and began my PhD in human behavior.
Even with this education that I knew God told me to get, I was very confused on what I was supposed to do with it. By this time, my personality had changed. Since I spent so much time at home, with only me and God, I wanted to gear my work into pleasing Him and inspiring others.
Sometimes, when you go through life you forget how many things you have gone through. I was a single mother, a home owner, had an advanced degree, and was sending my son to private school.
It was through this reflection that I began to realize I had a story to tell. One that I hoped would inspire other women and single mothers. This is when I got the idea to write my book and start my blog. My main focus was to share my education and experiences that I have gone through to prevent others from making the same mistakes.
And who would have though, that this would turn out to be my calling in life. I went from a woman who had nothing to say and feeling like I could not inspire anyone, to one that had much to say and wanted to inspire many.
I learned God is sufficient. Even though I wanted to be married and I want a father for my son, I learned this is not my main purpose in life. God had to show me, through my constant forcing of relationships and finding myself in bad positions that I needed to give up the reigns in this aspect of my life.
I went through times of being alone, times of struggling financially, and times of having no one to depend on but myself and God. I came to understand that He is the source of all things. It really is true when Joseph said that
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” –Genesis 50:20
Me being a single parent was supposed to defeat me. There were times when I have felt defeated, but through every hardship, tear, and sleepless nights God turned my hardship to a source of inspiration for others.
For anyone who is reading this, one lesson I would like them to take away from this post, is that we should never think our hardships are meant to defeat us. God never puts more on us than we can bear, and if you can just get through what God is putting on you, like a lump of coal that has been put under enormous amounts of pressure over time, you will come out like a diamond in the end.
About Sophia
Sophia Reed is a mother of one. She has a master’s degree in Human Services specializing in marriage, couple, and family therapy/ counseling, and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in Human Behavior. Sophia is a Christian, and enjoys meshing her Christian values with her education and experiences. Sophia’s blog is http://therapyncounseling.blogspot.com
Connect on: Twitter: @SophiaReedmft Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SophiaReedMFT Instagram: @SophiaReed
“Confide in Jehovah with all thy heart, and lean not unto thine own intelligence”, Proverbs 3: 5.