Blended Families

Special guest post from Stephanie Rudd regarding blended families:

“When we got married, I honestly didn’t think about the struggles that would come up once we became a blended family. I knew God put us together for a reason! I loved this man, he loved my son, and I loved his daughter. Those were the facts that I focused on. Neither my husband nor I came from a divorced home as children, so it was natural that it wasn’t a concern, at first. Oh, boy! Was the enemy upset at us joining our families together! All things aside, we really have blended well! Our kids are only 4 months apart in age and were instant brother and sister. By instant brother and sister I mean they love each other one minute and can’t stand each other the next. One of the big challenges we face with the kids is that for a majority of the time they are each only children. Once a week and every other weekend they have to adjust to the fact that they are not only children anymore. Some weeks they adjust better than others, but it’s hard for them. Taking authority from a “bonus” parent has also been a challenge (we say bonus instead of step). We try to remain sympathetic because neither one of us knows the emotions that our kids experience being in a blended family. As hard as it is at times we make the choice to focus on God and all the good! When I feel discouraged I think of Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” The enemy does not want us to make it as a family! He thought he succeeded with divorce in our pasts. Little did he know that our God is greater and loves redemption! Our marriage is living proof of God’s redemption! So as hard as it may be at times, it’s not a battle of us and our own flesh, it’s supernatural. I remind myself how much the enemy wants us to not make it as a family and choose to push into the Lord even more! The closer we draw to our Heavenly Father, His Word, and prayer, the smoother things go. The more we as parents work on our relationship with God and our marriage, the better the kids seem to be. God is so good!! I know He has BIG plans for this beautifully blended family and we will not let the enemy get in the way of that!!”