She came into my life at the age of 5 when Anthony and I married. Spunky, radiant, and absolutely full-of-life, Annah quickly became the “sunshine” of our freshly blended family unit.

She saw the bright side of everything and wanted nothing more than to have a mommy who loved her and a tightly-knit family under one roof.

Her hopes were pure and I admired her bouncy, pigtail-infused enthusiasm.

But the raw truth was that I wasn’t really excited about the prospect of “starting over” – my biological children were already teenagers and didn’t require my constant attention.

This little 5-year old would.

May I be vulnerable?

There were many times I wrestled to be present in the moment for Annah and caused her little heart to quietly wonder if I cared.

On countless occasions, I struggled to show her affection which caused her to privately question my love.

And there were more times than I can count where I hurried through interactions and conversations with her which caused her to internally doubt her worth.

I regret every single one of those moments.

However, here’s the incredible, life-giving truth that I pray breaths hope into someone’s heart reading this today who needs to hear it…

God redeemed it all.

One day at a time, one apology at a time, so that now, 21 years later, you’d be hard pressed to tell that she and I got our start in a blended family.

How can such a transformation be possible? How can God’s love overshadow the biases of DNA?

In the book of Matthew, Peter asked Jesus the question, “How many times should I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

Jesus responded with an answer that, I dare say, challenges most of us today, “I tell you not as many as seven, but seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:21-22 CSB)

That’s a whole lot of forgiveness going on every single day! And, in a broken, blended family, forgiveness is essential.

In order to get to where we are now, Annah and I needed to grab hold of God’s abundant grace each day; extend forgiveness and love routinely; and be willing to engage in some open and honest communication (that didn’t always feel good).

Of course, this truth goes far beyond just blended family dynamics. Any relationship worth having requires work.

The question is how badly do we want what Jesus promises us we can have? (John 17:21)

Until next time, Grace and Glory!