I am a woman and that is a crucible. Why and how could that possibly be considered a crucible?  It certainly was not God’s plan for women when Eve was created.  

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Yet, throughout recorded history, womankind has generally been treated as a subspecies, as property, whose primary function was to keep the species going and do the bidding of the males around her

If you are a parent, not just someone who has a child with whom you share DNA, you are a caregiver.

That’s a reality parents just accept. 

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Caregiving for mothers begins the moment we know we are pregnant.  For fathers, it begins the moment he gets the news, “I’m pregnant!” “We’re pregnant!”  “We’re going to have a baby!”

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Today, who would think being a divorced woman would be a crucible she would need to learn to thrive in?  

Divorce is a common occurrence, even within church communities—communities that tended to frown on it in the past.

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Why/how could being divorced even be considered a crucible today?

My first baby was a preemie who contracted cytomegalovirus while in the neonatal intensive care unit.  It left her with neurological and developmental problems. I adjusted to that as I learned about her condition.  Over 20 years later, I became the intentional parent/caregiver of three children who were expected to have special needs. 

Since I planned for these babies, why did I seem so overwhelmed?  I had raised a special needs child, had special training in special education, and fostering children who were affected by prenatal substance abuse, yet I so often felt lost.

Why?  Why was I struggling?