Excerpt
This episode names a grief that often goes unspoken: the grief of a relationship that disappears when a child arrives. It’s the slow heartbreak of expecting partnership, then realizing you’re parenting alone—and being villainized in the process. I share the early story of my son’s father leaving, the denial that followed, and the quiet emotional weight single mothers carry while still trying to nurture life. This is grief in real time: not just loss, but the loss of support, safety, and shared responsibility.
Reflection
Some grief isn’t about a person dying—it’s about a person refusing to show up. And that absence can create a daily ache: not only for what you needed, but for what your child deserved. This kind of grief can harden into bitterness if it isn’t named, processed, and released. But healing begins when we stop pretending we’re “fine” and start telling the truth: about disappointment, abandonment, anger, and the longing to be held while you’re the one holding everything together. God can meet us here too—especially in the places we were forced to become strong.
Journal Prompts
What expectations did you carry about partnership—spoken or unspoken—and what happened to those expectations?
Where do you feel villainized, misunderstood, or blamed for circumstances you didn’t choose alone?
What emotions have you avoided because you “had to keep going”? Name them without judging them.
What would it look like to grieve the absence properly—without staying stuck in it?
What boundaries (emotional, relational, spiritual) help you protect your peace while raising your child?
What do you want your child to feel in your home, even if life outside it is complicated?