It isn’t too often that I open up my heart in this space instead of my cookbook, but today I am going to do just that. So if you are looking for a recipe, you will likely be disappointed. If you like a good story, settle in and let’s talk. I started this blog over 3.5 years ago with no idea what it would become. The truth is, I really never call it a blog anymore, it has become a full-fledged resource website for all things freezer cooking. I LOVE that! I started it as a hobby never EVER thinking of adding menu genres or writers or dealing with Google spreadsheet formulas. I just wanted to help others do once a month cooking like I did. I wanted to help families to make it to the dinner table without a fight, or at least less of one. And it is all that and more.
Over the years I have watched (and listened) as other blogging friends have identified causes or non-profits to stand behind. To support. To invest in. I loved that idea, loved their passion, admired them; but then wondered what my “cause” was. See, I didn’t (and don’t) just want to adopt a cause to adopt a cause, I really wanted whatever I decided to be passionate about to be just that, something that ignited passion within me. And I never really found it. I began praying. That was 3 years ago.
As the site has grown and grown so has my desire to be invested in turning the blessings of this site into something that will benefit others. A “tithing” if you will. Still nothing came to me. Over the last year my husband has begun to travel a lot more and has left me at home with my children on many more occasions than in the first few years of our marriage. I have had several friends going through the same thing here too. And more and more I find myself saying, “Man, I have NO IDEA how single parents do this!”
Then I remembered back to my youth, and how my mom was that single parent for many, many years. So many years I spent being upset with her about my upbringing, or perhaps my lack of attention, only to discover in my adult years that she was doing the best she could do being a one woman show. The sudden outbursts? The lack of extra-curricular activities? The behavior I viewed as selfish at times? Yes, those were in many ways justified. She was trying to keep everything afloat on her own. (Yes, extended family helped quite a bit but it just isn’t the same when there isn’t someone there day-in and day-out helping you meet the emotional and physical needs of your children). And then I have been talking with my writers more and more and finding out that one of them has a husband in the military who is often gone serving disaster relief victims around the country while she has her two at home. A single parent. And another whose husband travels nearly every weekend. A single parent. Another who raised 3 boys on her own for a time before remarrying. A single parent. And the more I looked around the more I kept seeing single parents, whether permanently or temporarily by circumstances. And my eyes began to open to the fact that Once A Month Mom is the PERFECT fit for offering relief to SINGLE PARENTS! My heart leapt with joy. See, there are so many ideas of how I (and well, all of us) could use our once-a-month cooking skills/resources to help single parents we know. I know so many of you are already in ministry in some way with your meals or meal groups and I think that is fantastic, keep it up! And if this cause doesn’t speak to your heart, I understand, it is not for everyone. But if you read any of this and felt a tug on your heart I would ask you to at least join me in the conversation of where we take this passion. Here are a few ways I would love for us to start this journey.
- If you are a single parent (temporarily, occasionally, etc) would you please leave us a comment and tell us how once-a-month cooking has helped you and/or how we can help/encourage/support you on an ongoing basis?
- If you know of a non-profit that serves single parents would you share with us who they are?
- If you have ideas on how we might think about serving single parents in the future would you share your ideas?
I promise to prayerfully read over every comment (I might not be able to respond to each and every one) and come back to you soon on how we will work to make single parents a ministry outreach of Once A Month Mom from this day forward. Together we can make a difference!