When the White Picket Fence Never Goes Up
She said, "I was excited..." I noticed Amber's melancholy state when I met my friend for lunch. "I was excited about a new beginning in marriage," she said, "but now I find myself sad more often than happy. I'm not sure why." As we spoke further, I recognized the problem. Amber's new beginning included a "white picket fence" that never went...
Can You Be Content as a Stepmom?
She Wants Super Stepmom Status As a stepmom for more than two decades, I've had countless conversations with other stepmoms desperately trying to achieve Super Stepmom status, as though there's an end-of-the-year award. She cooks her stepchildren's favorite meals. And runs them around town to every activity. She spends hours hunting for the...
Loving a Prodigal Stepchild
How did we get here? She felt the knot in her stomach tighten as the phone rang, knowing her husband was visiting his son in prison. Familiar feelings of anger, fear, and shame flooded her heart. How did we get here? she thought. My stepmom friend, Nancy, had never been married, nor had children of her own. She'd entered stepfamily life full...
Overcoming the Odds with God’s Redeeming Power
“Deb was all about overcoming odds. She didn’t judge a person, a situation, or even a place by what they were, but by what they could become with God’s grace and mercy.” Beautiful words I read about my friend, Deb, shortly after she passed away. Deb had overcome her own odds of pushing past dyslexia and earning a doctorate degree. She was...
Promising Hope for Disappointing and Sorrowful Times
Happy New Year! How were your holidays? Stepfamily holidays can include angst, confusion, and disappointment. If that was your situation, I hope you'll allow God to redeem and restore you as we begin a new year. I shared a story in Stepparenting With Grace about a particularly hard holiday season for a fellow writer friend, Carla McClafferty....
