Peace Out of Pieces

Yes , girl , you can quote me on that as I reflect on my journey as a solo parent , there were many blessings , that is , blessings derived from lessons . That's what I call blessings , and this is one of my favorite that I look forward to sharing with you today .

Now , if I'm honest , even though I was the one that pursued divorce , the pursuit of peace is not what followed me , more like a bunch of pieces . I'm guessing you may feel the same in your single situation .

No matter how you got there , you , like me , may find your life looks more like sharp , tiny splinters of broken glass around you , reflecting your brokenness and lack of inner peace .

For me , it rendered my image unrecognizable , as there was no peace , only pieces of my life scattered like shards of glass from the impact of choosing divorce , now strewn in several directions , many pieces of which I was unaware of until my bare foot stepped on them , like glass on your kitchen floor .

Those were the worst when I stumbled across them in the dark nights of my soul . They were the hardest to pull out , as they were hard to see and cut deep beneath the surface . Needless to say , for me , and possibly even for you , it was quite obvious to those around me interstate .

I traveled on as I lacked inner peace , oftentimes leading me to the intersection and corner of chaos and confused . You may be there right now . Everything , every situation , every person , to include the world around me , also disrupted my peace and my fragile state of mind . Can you relate ?

So how does a single mom , now head of her household , find peace out of pieces ? Welcome to another episode of . It's a Single Mom , thing my rock and a hard place . For the first seven years of the too many to count years as a solo mama , my focus and it may become no shock to you was about piecing my life back together again .

And what did this mama want most ? Peace . I made it my pledge to my now small world to pursue peace at all costs . That meant some people and places needed to be deducted from my budget of time and energy . Walls went up and worries started to go away . Eureka , I must be on to something , or so I thought .

As I learned how to become more self-sufficient and savvy , I could more succinctly streamline my family's little world and everything in it . My confidence grew , happiness returned , and my son and I were on our way to building a new world without the people , places and the things that disrupted our peace .

This led to the belief that I could do all things by myself and for myself , and it actually worked For the first time in a lifetime . Up until this point , my inner state was unaffected by the situation and circumstances around me , because I made it my mantra to no longer travel those dark and lonely roads , and I was not picking up hitchhikers either .

Until the day I found myself at the intersection of my rock and a hard place . I lost my job , I lost my health , I lost my friends , I lost my mind , and on that Easter Sunday I was told I was going to lose my home too . I remember sitting down at our dining room table to a plate of piping hot food I had prepared for us .

I thought to myself it's Easter Sunday . Who could possibly be knocking at my door ? Now , let me digress for a second here . You see , up until this point in my life story , it was all about me and my sufficiency . So Easter was not about Jesus , it was about me and keeping things hoppy in my home . So let's continue .

So I go to answer the door and I was handed a letter from a young man , 20 years my junior . That's odd . As I shut the door and I thought to myself what could be so important that I had to get it on Easter Sunday ?

As I curiously opened the letter , I noticed it was from Bank of America who , on Easter Sunday , was kindly letting me know that my landlord had not paid her mortgage . The home I rented was in was now in foreclosure and I had to be gone in less than a month . Hoppy Easter .

Right Shortly after that , my inner peace and my inner state became more like a highway to hell , as I had no clue where I was going . But most certainly it was going to be a dead end , scrambled Unlike the hard-boiled Easter eggs I had prepared that day .

My life now seems scrambled , as I scrambled to find our way out of this new single situation between my rock and a hard place . Now , if you've been rolling with God , you certainly have experienced a God incidence At an intersection I like to call my rock and a hard place , am I right ?

Which , a few months later , after Easter , when I got saved , I began to understand this phenomenon called God incidents , and my rock I found in my hard places , much like a coincidence , which is a sequence of events that , although accidental , seems to have been planned or arranged , with one major difference A coincidence doesn't tell you who arranged the event , but

a God incidence points to its originator . You see , what I forgot to tell you early on in this podcast , as I forgot early on in my journey as a solo parent , was that I was not only looking for peace , but I was also looking for truth . Up until then , I was looking for it in all the wrong places .

You see , I thought when I found peace that I also found the truth . I thought it was in me , I was the source of it and I could control it , much like the countries of this world . I thought if I could just build a wall around my homeland , I could protect and secure our peace and anybody who wanted to disrupt it . Oh , we were going to war .

Just take a look at our world today . How is that working out ? That's all we hear about . You will hear of wars and rumors of war , but see to it that you are not alarmed . Such things must happen , but the end is still to come . Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom . There will be famines and earthquakes in various places .

All these are the beginning of birth pains . Matthew 24 , 6 through 8 . Truth , you see , up until that point , all roads pointed that I was in the right direction , until I came across the detour on that fateful Easter Sunday . The detour on that fateful Easter Sunday , my God incidents , my rock and a hard place .

Truth was pursuing me and it will ask , you , seek and you will find . Knock and the door will be opened to you , for everyone who asks receives , the one who seeks , finds , and the one who knocks , the door will be opened . Matthew 7 , 7 through 8 . Here's what I love about truth .

Even though I didn't know where to find it , how to get it , and was failing miserably at it , my rock was looking for me . You see , truth was a person and it had nothing , no thing to do with me , but has everything to do with him , meaning Jesus , and I was looking for it and he was sure I was going to find it .

On Easter Sunday , god rocked my world , just like the world that was rocked when Jesus took his last breath on the cross . And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice , he gave up his spirit . At that moment , the curtain of the temple was torn in two , from the top to the bottom . The earth shook , the rocks split and the tombs broke open .

The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life . They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people . When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened , they were terrified and exclaimed surely he was the son of God .

Many women were there , watching from a distance . They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs . Among them were Mary Magdalene , mary the mother of James and Joseph and the mother of Zebedee's sons , as was mentioned in last week's 100th podcast , if you listened .

So my question to you now that it is seven days after Easter Sunday do you find in your single situation , truth is pursuing you ? Have you too been looking for peace and truth in all the wrong people and places ? If you're a Christian sister or brother listening .

Have you been looking in the wrong direction inwardly , as of lately , or even have some unrepented sins that has recently separated you from your peace , which you know comes only from him . And when you are right with him , the good news is you can repent , which means simply turn around . You can make a Y-O-U .

Turn to get on that road of inner peace , making him the inner state . You travel on , of course , with the help of the Holy Spirit . Enter through the narrow gate , for wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction , and many enter through it , but small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life , and only a few will find it .

Matthew 7 , 13 through 14 . Listen y'all , I want you to find it , no matter what you've done or are going through . You can have peace when you find the Lord , jesus . Christ . Jesus answered I am the way and the truth and the life . No one comes to the Father except through me . John 14 , 6 . Listen , here is what I want you to understand about peace .

Peace is not possible without God . Peace isn't found in a sizable banking account . Thank you , bank of America , for showing me that Another person , or even the country you are listening in . It is only found in him . Peace I leave you , my peace I give to you . Not as the world gives do I give to you .

Let not your hearts be troubled , neither let them be afraid . John 14 , 27 . The world , just like a sharp piece of glass , is broken , scattered as it is , separated from divorcing itself from God when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit . Therefore , the world can never provide which it will never have as long as it is without him , meaning Jesus .

As Christians , however , we can cultivate this inner peace and seek to promote peace in our relationships and communities , even in our single situations . We do so as we seek to live in obedience to God's will and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us . Thus we will experience the inner peace that transcends our circumstances .

Experience the inner peace that transcends our circumstances . However , pursuing peace can be difficult , as it requires us to be intentional and persistent in our efforts . But peace is possible , even if you have an ex . We must be willing to confront injustice and work towards peaceful solutions , even in the face of opposition or difficulty .

Sometimes we simply need to pray for peace , even for our ex . You can find an episode on that in our archives . You see , we also must be willing to cultivate inner peace , seeking to understand ourselves and others and practice forgiveness and compassion .

By doing so , we can bring hope and healing to a world that is in desperate need of God's shalom , which simply means peace . No matter how broken your world is right now , you can have peace out of pieces .

So listen , if you're ready to turn around and accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior , all you need to do is simply recite the following salvation prayer with me Dear God , I admit that I'm a sinner who has done many things that are against your principles and teachings .

I have lived my life for myself , and today I repent of all my sins and ask for your forgiveness . I turn away from my sinful life and turn to you , lord . I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God , who came and died for my sins .

I invite you , lord , jesus Christ , to come into my heart and take control of my body , mind and soul , guide me as I walk in the right path of life , take away my sinful heart and put a pure heart and steadfast spirit in me .

I commit my life to you as I seek the power of the Holy Spirit to help me live a life that pleases you , god , by faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation . I'm ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior . Help me to grow in grace and the knowledge of truth in the word of God .

May I rely on the power of the Holy Spirit daily to transform me , to become more like Christ Jesus . Thank you , lord , for your wonderful saving grace . In Jesus' name , amen . Are you still unsure and want to learn more about his peace ? Call us at 855-822-PRAY . Want to be part of a community of peace ?

Find more information and inspiration at Shepherdsvillagecom . There you will find resources , e-courses , blogs and in-person classes . Do you play pickleball and love to dink around ? I invite you to participate in our first ever West Shore Services Florida HVAC Raisin Rally Pickleball Fundraiser on Saturday , april 27th at 2 pm .

It's a charity event to benefit Shepherds Village , helping single moms and their kids face their future with confidence . It's Pickle with a Purpose . For more event information , to buy tickets or even make a donation , visit shepherdsvillagecom forward , slash pickleball . I will be there and be sure to stay out of the kitchen .

Have a wonderful week and remember it's a single mom thing and not a single thing that stops you . Thanks for listening to . It's a Single Mom Thing . I hope you enjoyed our time together . If you have more questions on how to have a relationship with Jesus or your prayer , visit us at wwwshepherdsvillagecom . Backslash prayer .

For more information and resources , check out our show notes .