What is strength?

If we’re talking in the physical sense, we may imagine people with large muscles, or competitors in Strongman competitions lifting impossible weights. If we’re talking about emotional or mental strength, we might picture someone carrying a heavy load without ever seeming to break down.

But I don’t believe that’s the full truth.

Single moms carry some of the heaviest loads. We are responsible for our children’s well-being, their emotional state, finances, work—life in general. I’ve been told so often, “You’re so strong.” Honestly? I don’t always feel strong. At best, I feel like I hold it together. And sometimes… not even that. The mental load is overwhelming. Even with a great support system (and I do have one), the weight is still so heavy.

There are days when all I want to do is break down. Some days, that feels like a daily thought. Moms—single or not—carry so much for their households and their children. It is exhausting. We constantly worry about our kids, hoping we’re doing enough for them, wanting the best for their futures. And at the same time, they can also get on our very last nerve.

My kids have seen me in those “not-so-strong” moments. They’ve seen me sob. They’ve seen me scream. They’ve seen me throw my hands up as if saying, “I give up!” But here’s the thing—I don’t give up. I can’t. They’re counting on me.

As I was contemplating this post, I asked myself: How do I describe the quiet strength of single moms when I often feel so weak? And just like He always does, God brought a Scripture to my mind and reminded me of the truth:

“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore, I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
—2 Corinthians 12:9-10

That’s the quiet strength of single moms. Not that we never fall apart—but that even in our weakness, God makes us strong.