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Who's Molly?

Born in the late 1930’s, Molly grew up in a very common rural American family. New England farm life produced strong, hard working people, and this was true for Molly and her two sisters. She had a love for animals, and followed the dream of competition in horse shows and long distance trail rides. In the 1960’s she attended the University of New Hampshire to pursue a career caring for horses and other livestock. 

While the surface of Molly’s life appeared to be quite promising, there were underlying issues that affected her story. Childhood trauma, family conflict and unhealthy relationships started to play a bigger role. She married in 1968, became pregnant and put her college studies on hold.

Molly became a mom later that year, found herself fleeing an abusive marriage and quickly discovered that she was now a single mother shortly after the birth of her son. 

As with so many single moms we meet today, her primary purpose in life became raising and providing for her boy. Her relationship with Jesus provided inspiration, and a guiding light to follow as she navigated the difficult path ahead. While it wounded her soul, she easily made the decision to put her dreams of finishing college on hold to care for her son. The financial burden of providing shelter, transportation, food and the basic necessities was nearly unsurmountable. Molly and her son were on the brink of homelessness many times. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s she consistently put her own happiness on hold, swallowed her pride and had to rely on the charity of family or others to assist. 

While financially, Molly and her son’s life was a constant struggle, God provided a path of nationwide travel, and adventure for them to follow. Pursuing employment as a teacher’s aid, cook, nursing assistant and home health provider took them from rural New Hampshire to suburban Massachusetts, to the desert of Northern Arizona, the mountains of North Carolina and back to New England for nearly 20 years, never staying in one place more than a year or two, sometimes only months or weeks. 

Molly found herself on one side of a seemingly uncrossable chasm. On one side, she and her son were barely making ends meet, living on welfare, food stamps, and the charity of friends. On the other side, clearly visible, but unreachable were her hopes and dreams, the home and career she longed for, and the rugged independence that her early childhood had knit into her soul. She needed a way to bridge that chasm. To simply be given a chance to walk over to the other side. A bridge over that chasm would not do the work for her, but would simply provide a path. She would still have to walk across under her own strength, which she eagerly would have done if given the opportunity. 

I wish I could continue this story with a miraculous turn of events and reversal of fortune, but that never came for Molly. She was never provided the bridge she needed. After her son left home to start his own family, she persevered on, never losing her dreams, but also never reaching them. Physical limitations grew larger over the years and bitterness crept in. When Molly succumbed to the complications of diabetes, I can only surmise that she was happy to enter the presence of the Lord, and be free from the pain and disappointment of life. 

This story gives you a glimpse into Molly’s life and who she was, and provides the foundation for Molly’s Bridge. This organization is dedicated to providing bridges to single moms who face similar challenges, and simply need a bridge to help them reach their goal of a prosperous and fulfilling life for their children. 

One of my older cousins, many years ago, gave Molly the family nickname of “Aunty Mo”. She was known to our whole family as Aunty Mo as long as I can remember. My dream is that she can live on as Aunty Mo to hundreds if not thousands of children of single mothers by providing bridges to their families. Bridges that will help them across the chasm they face. Bridges that will allow them to break the cycle of poverty, and leave a legacy of healthy, whole families for generations to come.

- Of all the family members and friends that called her Aunty Mo, I’m probably the only one who did not use that familiar title, I simply called her Mom.