You may know that my tagline is “standing in the gap for second moms“ — so you may wonder,
what gap? Where is this gap?
Do you know what the gap is in your life?
See if this rings a bell:
ENTERING THE GAP...
The gap I have recognized is when you know something is wrong, and as mom you have identified that there’s a real problem that needs to be addressed and you begin to reach out for information, for resources, for help.
You may not know exactly what to call it.
You may not know if there’s something diagnosable…or what the cause is…even where to look for answers. But that doesn’t stop you. You’re told not to worry or given trite responses or over-simplified advice.
You don’t know exactly what to do...
Read more...AS HUMANS WE OFTEN ENCOUNTER MISPERCEPTIONS AND MISUNDERSTANDINGS.
People are naturally skeptical of things that are different. Even prior to adopting you’ve likely faced misunderstanding and misperceptions due to your Christian beliefs or in other contexts.
In our adoptive families, there is often lots of fuel for the fires of skepticism, leading to flames of misperceptions and misunderstandings. These can even grow into a raging wildfire threatening to overtake the entire structure of the family.
Read more...
Today’s topic is emotional boundaries.
In particular on this episode I’m focusing on emotional boundaries for moms like me. In many of our adoptive families children have suffered an enormous degree of trauma and in particular the loss of not only their first mother but other caregivers as well in their formative years.
Different Types of Boundaries
You’ve seen & heard quite a bit about setting boundaries by now I suppose. And perhaps you have a good grip on what it means to set personal boundaries with others, and have even put this into practice in your own life. Even so, to make sure that we’re on the same page today, you need to know that what I mean by the word “boundaries” is that dividing line (boundary) you make to protect something of yours from trespass by another that says you will not continue past that line (boundary) with the other person. In practice it may sound something like, “I will not continue listening to you yell obscenities at me;” a boundary to protect your finances might sound like, “I will not continue paying you while your work is unfinished;” one to protect property – “I won’t leave without locking the door first”; one to protect physical safety – “I won’t stay in the house where there are unsecured weapons.”
With all these various boundaries to protect different things, there may be an emotional component. But today I want us to pick apart and focus primarily on emotional boundaries. You may set boundaries to protect your time, your physical body, your work/ability to get work done, your belongings. You can also set boundaries to protect your emotional safety.
