A Different Kind of Mother: Encouragement for StepmomsNäide

God Doesn’t Create Brokenness; He Redeems It

“God made stepmoms.” It’s written on a cute coffee mug in the bookshop I visited in the middle of November. And at the risk of being controversial, I believe it’s a lie. God didn’t make stepmoms. He didn’t make broken families (or blended families, as they are now called); He didn’t make divorce; He didn’t make stepmoms.

But we live in a fallen world, and we must recognize that many societal roles come from this fallenness. Physician, psychologist, pharmacist, police officer—these laudable occupations are a direct result of sin, death, and bloodshed. God doesn’t create brokenness, but He does redeem it.

And so it is with the stepmother. He places people in our lives for His Glory. He sends children into our lives as blessings who will one day advance His Kingdom. And our own lives? They are not only for ourselves.

So, what mug would I buy? “God uses stepmoms”— and He does. He has used my story, and He will use yours.

Application: What about your heart as a stepmother needs to change over the next five days? Are you trusting in God to do it? Make a list of all the things God has redeemed for you. Resist focusing on what is still in progress, still broken, or being mended; focus on what is redeemed in Him, and camp there.