Ok, so I know I've been slacking lately, but here it is, the last post of 2011...
I hope you will come back in 2012 to see how things are progressing in my step-parenting journey. Like with most everything else in life, we learn from our experiences. Hopefully, I will not make the same mistakes next year, but I'm sure I will have new challenges.
My stepson just turned 16 and my stepdaughter will be 15 in the spring. They're not really "kids" anymore, so they'll be facing new challenges as well. I'm looking forward to seeing what the new year has in store for them and I hope I'll be able to help them along the way.
A stepparent's job is difficult to define and even harder to perform successfully. We can't really be their parents and we aren't supposed to be their friends. We're not blood relatives, but we ARE family. In a perfect world, we wouldn't even exist. But here we are, trying to educate like teachers, encourage like friends, and love like parents.
I'm reminded of seed, time, and harvest. Our seed is the effort we put forth to enrich the lives of our spouses' children. In time, we will reap the harvest, which hopefully will be abundantly blessed relationships with people who will be better for having known us.
Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts
Showing posts with label challenges. Show all posts
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
The Christian Stepmom
In one of my first posts, I mentioned that I didn't want this blog to be a place to trash-talk the kids or the ex. That got me to thinking about other unpleasant things we might like to do because of the challenges of being a stepparent. For me, it's easy to want to judge the ex and criticize her life choices or blame her (or the kids) for problems that affect our lives. Sometimes it's tempting to let the drama come between me and my husband. There are many opportunities to misbehave.
As a Christian, my conduct should always reflect my love for God and my devotion to His word. But I am also human, which means that my thoughts and desires are often contrary to the teachings of Christ. God knows all about the problems in my life, but He still wants me to live in a way that represents Him well. I truly believe that many people want nothing to do with God because of how certain Christians have behaved. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the kind of person who gives Christianity a bad reputation.
It may be tough to balance the unpleasantries of stepmotherhood with the lifestyle of righteousness, but it is not impossible. We can choose to do the right thing, even if we don't want to. Sometimes it helps to know that God loves us despite our faults and He forgives us even when others won't. And I have a hunch, that when we choose to deal with our stepmom challenges His way, life just might be a lot more peaceful.
As a Christian, my conduct should always reflect my love for God and my devotion to His word. But I am also human, which means that my thoughts and desires are often contrary to the teachings of Christ. God knows all about the problems in my life, but He still wants me to live in a way that represents Him well. I truly believe that many people want nothing to do with God because of how certain Christians have behaved. I don't know about you, but I don't want to be the kind of person who gives Christianity a bad reputation.
It may be tough to balance the unpleasantries of stepmotherhood with the lifestyle of righteousness, but it is not impossible. We can choose to do the right thing, even if we don't want to. Sometimes it helps to know that God loves us despite our faults and He forgives us even when others won't. And I have a hunch, that when we choose to deal with our stepmom challenges His way, life just might be a lot more peaceful.
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