Muffins for moms.

Three times today with three different people I have had conversations on the topic of divorce, blended families, and absent parents. Strange coincidence? Maybe. But usually I end up looking back on something like this a few days/weeks/months later and say, "Ohhhhhh, I get it now. That's why you brought those conversations up with those certain people at that certain time." Not always, but usually it kinda perks my radar up for something that God may be doing in my life and/or the lives of those around me. So I've put my listening ears on.

It started with a conversation about a program that E's school does each year - "Muffins for Moms." Pretty self-explanatory, I think - the kids spend a few weeks working on special things to give their moms, and on a designated morning the moms show up and receive those gifts and the kids get to show off their classroom and friends, etc. This is a great idea in a perfect world, and maybe a great idea in a not-so-perfect world in theory. In reality, because of the number of broken homes in this world, coupled with the fact that not every mom has a schedule that easily coincides with being able to attend these types of functions, there are inevitably a few kids that get left out - even when everyone does their best to make sure they are included. And I don't necessarily think the answer isn't to avoid programs like this entirely, but it does make things a little uncomfortable.

The second conversation revolved around situations where friends of ours and also separate and totally unrelated friends of this other person were going through a divorce because the husband just decided to leave one day - no warning, no apparent reason, no excuses. Just gone. Kids were involved, some of them very young. Infidelity played its part but seemingly only as secondary to the fact that really they "just didn't love" their spouse any longer because of one reason or another. Both husbands claimed to be Christians and yet were walking completely and totally outside of the covenant of marriage that God designed and proclaimed in Scripture. Strange. And scary to imagine that it could happen so easily.

And the third conversation was spent mostly discussing the reality of blended families, broken families, families in which additional marriages did or didn't cause stress on the children of the original set of parents. How the kids responded to those new parental figures in their lives. How the parents responded to the new spouses of their previous husband or wife.

The whole time I tried - really tried - to not sound like a moron about the topic. Because when it comes to blended/broken/step-families, I really do not have a whole lot of experience. My parents have been married for over 30 years, my mom's parents have been married for over 50 years, and my dad's parents have been married for over 60 years. I did not grow up in a home that felt the effects of a blended family. So my experience with this has been very limited and I just don't feel like I usually have anything valuable to offer to someone in this type of situation.

So today I mostly listened. And considered what the Lord was trying to teach me in all of this. Wondering what He is up to in my life that I would need to have these coordinated conversations on this day. Thankful for the husband that I do have, knowing that not only does he not have the desire to seek divorce but that also he has surrounded himself with other like-minded guys/men that keep him in check on his behaviors, thoughts, lifestyles that would lead him down that path or leave him open to the Enemy's attacks. So thankful for those guys because it relieves me of the duty of being the only one there to "protect" my husband from potential footholds (i.e., nag about situations or behaviors of his that I am uncomfortable with). Instead, I get to trust that the same God that is at work in my life is at work in his, and any sin or potential sin that needs to be addressed will be done by and through the men that are daily in his life and holding him accountable to that holy standard - which brings so much peace and security to my heart and mind.