Carol Floch had to go through an ordeal herself. She was ending her marriage, and she was devastated. All she could do all day was cry – not only for herself and her marriage, but for her kids as well. She didn’t want them to grow up in a broken home, and going through a divorce was exactly what would cause that to happen. She was going to become a single mom, the last thing in the world she wanted to be.
Then, she says, God came to her. His message was from Psalm 84, which reads, “Build your nest near my altar, and I will be your children’s source of security, protection, provision, and blessing.”
She took that verse as gospel and decided to live her life according to the creed. However, her work didn’t stop there. Carol went on to tell her story to other divorced single moms in the same situation she went through in a book she wrote entitled The Single Mom’s Devotional: A Book of 52 Practical and Encouraging Devotions (2009). She wrote it to explain to single moms how they too can build their “nests” within the shadow of God’s protective alter.
Readers of this book will find spiritual replenishment at the foot of Christ’s cross – and feeding their souls through the daily devotionals in the book will help give them the strength and renewed vigor they need to face each day raising their children on their own.
What You’ll Find in the Book
The 52 devotionals in Floch’s The Single Mom’s Devotional, cover the entire gamut of single mothers’ emotions and feelings as they attempt to bravely power through the harrying process of raising kids alone in a cruel world. According to the author, the only way to navigate life successfully while raising kids alone is to rely solely on God’s loving protection to help with all things, each and every day.
The devotionals begin by addressing subjects such as fear of the future, dealing with heartache, being alone, and other fundamental emotions that often prevent single mothers from being truly happy while raising their children. This book helps illustrate that a happy mom makes happy children, and facing guilt, sadness, and other negative feelings head-on with Christ’s loving help is the only way to overcome these thoughts.
The book goes on to deal with redefining life for single mothers in a more positive light, helping them as they wrestle with self-identification problems, and offering advice for coping with isolation and loneliness for the sake of themselves and the children they’re raising.
This is paramount to success as a single mother, because isolation and loneliness is a short road to depression, and depression can spiral out of control extremely fast. Serious depression can render a single mom unable to care for her children, and this is just not an option for most women raising their children on their own without a support network to rely upon.
The book also explores the act of applying God’s love to relieve worry, doubt, shame, and dependence in a single woman’s life. This is critical as well for a single mom because she needs to be strong for her children. It ends with reinforcing the need for Christian obedience in order to secure a place for the single mom and her children near God’s Holy Alter.
One of the best parts of this book by Floch is that each of the 52 Christian devotionals that are included in the book are broken into parts. The first part is the reading itself, which consists of about two pages. There are also accompanying Bible verses that are relevant to the devotional.
The author also includes a list of topics to use during reflection. She adds a list of questions that single moms can ask themselves after reading and praying, and she also allots a section for note-taking during reading and Bible study.
Real Women Talk about The Single Mom’s Devotional
Women who have purchased The Single Mom’s Devotional have simply raved about it on Amazon.com. These are women who have been through rocky divorces and other unfortunate events that have brought them to single motherhood. One woman who bought the book says, “This book is absolutely wonderful. Carol so eloquently describes the apprehensions and fears we face as we endeavor upon single motherhood. The stories are so relevant, interwoven with real situations I have either faced or am facing.”
The woman goes on to reinforce that you’re not getting a daily dose of “warm fuzzies” when you buy this book. Quite the contrary, she says. Each devotional is actually two or three pages of ideas and activities that a woman can use to work on herself and her mindset throughout the week in order to get a better handle on her situation.
Then, once she’s implemented the techniques from that week’s devotional, another one is waiting for her. It’s a continued source of hope and inspiration for Christian women who need a little lift in their lives as they raise their children.
Another woman who bought and reviewed this book on Amazon.com noted that her favorite parts included the section on fear of the future, and she immensely enjoyed the part about redefining life as well. She said that Floch’s writings in the introduction made her heavy with sadness and self-identification because of the words the author wrote there: “How is it possible to be numb and feel pain at the same time?”
This question hit home for the reviewer because she herself has been right where the author has been in her life. According to this woman, she felt comfort and joy in the fact that although her other roles – wife, Mrs., married mom – were stripped away and changed forever, the cross of Jesus Christ stayed constant. That, she said, is what got her through her own divorce. She was able to take the challenge of single motherhood head-on and get through it in one piece – and that’s partially thanks to this exceptional book.