More Daily Encouragement for the Smart StepFamilySample

Connect to Your Child’s Heart

One of my goals is connecting you with your child’s heart. The other day I had a conversation with someone that warmed my heart. This dad had listened to a podcast where I talked about kids, divorce, and blended families. It got him wondering if his daughter felt the way I had described. So he asked her. And sure enough, she did. But there was more. 

You see, before their conversation she didn’t have words for what she was feeling. Oddly enough, in asking her if she felt a certain way, he gave words to her experience and helped her talk about it. But there was even more. 

Before he initiated the conversation, she had felt disconnected from her father and unable to talk to him about awkward stepfamily issues. He hadn’t known that. The conversation and her dad’s listening ear made her feel close to him, not alone. Supported, not isolated. Loved, not forgotten. The combination of a quick question and an open heart turned into shared feelings and connected souls. 

Father God, prompt me by your Spirit to ask questions that can initiate heart-to-heart conversations with my kids that draw us closer to each other. 

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© 2018 by FamilyLife. Excerpted with permission from Daily Encouragement for the Smart Stepfamily by Ron L. Deal with Dianne Neal Matthews, Bethany House Publishers. Get more daily encouragement with this 365-day devotional that will keep your family blending and bonding throughout the year.