Diana first contacted CAP by email, she didn’t give too much away. She had had a change of circumstances and really needed help with managing her money. As she says, “it really was God” that she lives close to Galway and the team at Discovery church were just about to start their first money coaching course in late 2024.
I later found out that her husband of many years had left her and their three children. She had no idea of how to manage the household finances because he had always taken care of everything. She wasn’t even aware of how much rent they paid. This is sadly too often the case for couples and can be a sign of an unhealthy financial relationship.
When she came along to the money coaching she listened carefully and joined in with the activities. Like many lone parents she didn’t talk a lot about her situation, she simply wanted to learn how to gain some control of her life again. She talked and laughed with the group, a welcome break from her everyday worries.
“Because its a class….you learn a lot….good habits…good lessons…”
Said Diana of her money coaching class with participants – pictured below:
“…made her feel like she was drowning”
Only weeks before, Diana had been struggling to do anything other than go to work, and keep the basics of life going for her teenage children. She was a Christian but the weight of her situation made her feel like she was drowning. She told me that one day she called out to God in her desperation. He answered her in a few really specific ways, including leading her to money coaching. He showed her that Jesus was still with her and that he would give her the strength to carry on. As a lone parent, yes, but not alone, with God by her side.
The God who sees
People become lone parents for many reasons; relationship breakdown, separation, divorce, escaping domestic abuse, the death of a partner. Some are lone parents from the start of their parenting journey others come to it later. What ever causes someone to find themselves in that situation, it is hard.
The Bible clearly shows that it is right to care for people in need, widows and orphans are often mentioned. But it is not just those who lose a partner through death that are deserving of our help.
In Genesis 16 we read about Hagar, an Egyptian slave to the patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah. Hagar was badly misused by them to try to fulfil God’s promise of an heir for Abraham. After she became pregnant the relationship between Hagar and Sarah was destroyed. Sarah treated her so harshly that she ran away into the desert.
God did not abandon Hagar. An angel of the LORD appeared to her. He told her to return to Sarah with a promise that her descendants would be numerous. God continued to help her and blessed her future.
One of the most notable parts of Hagar’s story is that she was the first person to name God in the bible. She called him El Roi saying, “You are the God who sees me”. Lone parents feel invisible and powerless a lot of the time. God sees them, do we?
Lone parents in Ireland
In Ireland lone parents are more likely to experience poverty or enforced deprivation. This means that they are unable to fully meet their needs and take part in society in ways that many of us take for granted.* Their children are affected, sometimes unknowingly leading them into intergenerational poverty.
If we can help people like Diana, lone parents for whatever reason, surely Jesus expects us to do so. The church can be a place of welcome and inclusion, where people are seen.
Money coaching was a lifeline for Diana. When I visited her in her home it was spotless and well organised, her life is coming back together. She has such joy in her heart and drive in her life, despite ongoing challenges. She credits God for her new found hope, because of what He has done to help her.
We need more churches to get involved through money coaching. There are people like Diana, all across Ireland, that need the support that money coaching can give them. We want money coaching to be accessible to many many more.
To do this we need church partners, volunteer coaches and befrienders and financial supporters.
Will you ask God if he is calling you to get involved?
Contact us to find out more:
4 responses to “Money Coaching: A Lifeline for Lone Parent Diana”
Annual Child Poverty Monitor out today from The Children’s Rights Alliance shows greater child and intergenerational poverty despite some measures taken by Government in 2024 https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0610/1517580-childrens-rights-alliance/
[…] Coaching from CAP is a simple ministry that every church in Ireland can adopt. Lone parent Diana was thankful to have money coaching accessible to her in Galway. But if Pastor Paul Cullen at […]
A recent ERSI report confirms that lone parents are at greatest risk of poverty and deprivation https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2025/0731/1526201-esri-poverty/
[…] work is helping people with their household finances and budgeting. People like Diana, a lone mother who was “drowning” and overwhelmed until she got the help she needed through […]