When today's season of life is immeasurably sorrowful or burdensome, is it any wonder that many single moms often wonder how they'll survive? Looking ahead can be a daunting prospect to be sure. And still, everyone needs the reminder that as the writer in Ecclesiastes says, "...For everything there is a season...a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance..." So it is with great hope that those who are now mired in any kind of pain can rest assured; it is only for this season of their lives...not the sum total of their life's existence.

Perhaps one of the most difficult challenges to meet during these emotionally wrenching times is the ability to be present in the moment. Certainly, we look ahead and make plans. However, when moms are so discouraged and wounded, we frequently get stuck in our pain...unable to see the value in the present. Nor are we "present" in our family's lives. And if we can't "see" the good, how will our kids?

Author Donna-Marie Cooper O-Boyle www.donnacooperoboyle.com in her new book, Grace Café, coins a term she calls "busy waiting" for that sacred place moms position themselves. It is that dynamic interplay between getting "busy" with the task at hand despite how they feel...while simultaneously looking ahead in hope. This wonderful ability to "busy wait" enables a mom to do what must be done, for herself and her family, even when the season is pretty arid or barren. The key here is to remember it's only a season and it will pass. As O-Boyle reminds women, no matter how painful or challenging today is, "...these are the present moments of our lives that cannot be duplicated in the future."  
 

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