Healthy Stepparenting #14: Trust God's Power to Heal Relationships in your Family

I just finished studying the story of Lazarus in the book of John. It's a compelling story of how Jesus chose to raise Lazarus from the dead after he had "been in the tomb for four days." (John 11:17).

You can picture the scene with Jesus first arriving and asking Lazarus' sister, Mary, to move the stone from the tomb. Now the grave lay open for all to see.

Tombs in Israel were caves with a hollowed-out place with shelves for bodies to be placed. Lazarus, as a Jew, would have been clothed in a linen garment, with his arms and legs tied with bandages and his head wrapped in a towel.

Suddenly Jesus cried out, "Lazarus, come out!" The surrounding mourners must have been terrified as Lazarus appeared at the entrance of the cave, still covered with the burial cloth and bandages. What a miracle to witness as the power of Jesus Christ had brought him back to life.

As believers, we have access to that same power today. We may not witness one being raised from the dead, but we can certainly witness Jesus' healing power around us.

Loss from divorce or death leads to brokenness that can destroy relationships. If someone in your family needs emotional or spiritual healing, pray for Jesus' healing hand. It is possible to experience healing from broken hearts and painful encounters with others.

We may need healing in our own lives before we can reach out to others. When we're hurt by our stepchildren, our natural choice is to draw back from the relationship or react in anger. But as we experience healing of the hurt, we can allow ourselves to be vulnerable again as we seek to move forward.

If our stepchildren are upset or bitter toward us because of their own loyalty issues or other problems, we can pray for softened hearts through emotional healing. It may take months or years before we see results, but Jesus' healing power can work miracles in our families if we believe in His power and pray for His healing.

Don't negate the power of Jesus' healing hand. I've witnessed it in my own family. Our step-relationships are miraculously different today because of the power of healing through faithful prayer.