Forget that evil stepmom label: On loving my stepkids like Jesus would
Today, my devotional is the featured blog on my friend and fellow Christian author Alexis Goring's Devotionals for the Heart "God is Love" blog.
By Jessica Brodie
The clichés abound: wicked stepmother, the evil “other woman” who only wants to push away these children of the past so she can have her man, their dad, all to herself. I’ve lost count of how many fairy tales and fables start with some poor princess who’s lost her mother tragically, only to have her replaced by a jealous rival for her father’s affection.
I knew this all too well when I walked down the aisle and married my husband five years ago. We were both entering rocky territory: He would be stepdad to my two biological children, and I would be stepmom to his two. It didn’t matter that we each loved each other and all the kids fiercely. We weren’t naïve—we knew the negative expectations, the strange new roles we were walking into.
And as Christians, we also knew another twisted truth: The devil wanted us to fail.
Five years later, I’m happy to report I am a blessed woman. I am blessed to have four wonderful kiddos, two stepkids, two biological kids, all loved deeply and fully by two parents trying their best to do right by all of them. We call ourselves a “blended family,” and I like the term.
Of course, it’s not all butterflies and sunshine. It’s a daily process to shove our egos aside and understand we can’t take anything personally.
READ THE REST OF THE BLOG HERE!
