What Every Spirit-Filled Single Mother Needs to Know About Her Son

I’m a single mom raising a young boy growing into a young man.

The thoughts and concerns I have, has intensified so much since the day of his birth. When my son was born, I was a married woman. After two years of my son’s life, I was divorced. I had to adapt to being a single mom. My concerns were for things like, How can I teach my son to be a man? How to think like a man? Walk like a man? Know the responsibilities of a man?

His father has played a constant role in his life, but I am the full-time primary caregiver. It is I my son sees daily. My habits, my tendencies, my behavior and so on. I admit, God knew what He was doing. Blessing me with a child and a son at that, only holding me in constant accountability. Even as an apostle of the gospel, when I fall short, having someone watching as I go through the repercussions and the consequences of my actions can be heart breaking. It made me want to straighten up immediately. I cannot live selfishly. I can’t do what my flesh wants to do. I can’t bring any Tom, Dick and Harry around to keep me company on lonely nights.

The devil will tempt you, but God does sustain, trust me. My son’s name is “God’s With Us,” Immanuel. When I look at him, say his name and speak to him, I realize he was sent by God. Father has trained me to teach him in the way he should go. God has taught me to build him up with words of life. So when he goes through any trying times, those words will be his anchor, his source of strength. I teach him what God tells me he is ready to take in. I teach him how to treat women. Stay away from unnecessary conflict. If you are with a group of friends who are causing trouble, be confident in yourself enough to walk away. Your loyalty is to Jesus first, then yourself. Your credit and integrity means everything.

If all of that is not enough, I have to teach him how to respond in a profiling situation. I have to teach him a language that won’t offend an officer of the law. This week, I will be writing a series of different examples of what I say to my son. I will open up my home to you and share with you some of our conversations. This will be an open platform to share and sharpen one another’s iron. It takes a community but nothing is successful without Jesus.

We must raise our sons in the way they should go so when they grow old, it will not depart from them (Prov. 22:6). I am a true believer of raising kings. God has equipped us for these trying times. We can’t leave our children to chance. We must hold them up with complete authority against the enemy. We fight warfare in the spiritual and the natural. In every situation God gives us wisdom. It’s not what we know, it is what thus says the Lord. {eoa}