Blend: Strengthen Your FamilySýnishorn

Family Forest

Mitchel and Erica have been married for two years with four children full of life. They each brought children from previous marriages and are fostering their fourth.

Through the redemptive, unimaginable power of Christ, we have strong relationships with our entire family. Previous spouses, grandparents, new stepparents, bio kids, step kids, and foster kids are all a regular and surprisingly healthy part of our life. 

We realize this is not possible in every situation, and for some reason beyond ourselves, we have this special opportunity. Every family has a family tree, but at some point, we ended up with a family forest. 

Here’s how Erica and I navigate the forest. 

Prayer. Prayer was the foundation that we were able to build upon when we first began seeking reconciliation with our exes. We know prayer has the ability to change the hearts of others because it has changed our hearts. We pray bold prayers for the future we hope to have. When things are great, pray. When you can’t see the forest from the trees, pray. 

Communication. We have a group text between the parents of each child/children to keep all adults on the same page, and we never use the children to communicate back and forth between one another. We do not want them to feel like they are caught in the middle any more than they already are. We make sure to always speak positively about all family members and encourage strong bonds to new stepparents. We’re not perfect, but we do our best to understand our ex’s intentions rather than just their actions. 

The more the merrier. Imagine being a kid at a ball game and having your entire family forest watching together and cheering you on. If you’re the kid, you have a cheering section. What a great feeling knowing you are deeply loved by so many. We want this for our children. They have so much room for this kind of love.

Again, not all of this will apply for all families. But, what can God do with your family? How will you allow your kids to see the power of what God’s grace and restoration can do? What can God do in the relationships and lives that you make decisions for? Probably a lot more than any of us would dare imagine. 

Watch Blend: It's Possible to Co-Parent Healthy Kids, Part 2

Pray: God, I give my hopes and expectations to You. Show me what I can do to give our family a front-row seat to Your power and love. Thank You for what You have done and are yet to do in my family. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

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