The past is the past! But how much we let the past affect us is the question! Every incident in our lives leaves a mark on us—emotionally, physically, mentally. How deep the mark depends on the problem. Job loss. Family loss. Financial loss. Loss of health. Notice that I said “loss” in each of these cases.  Whatever the cause, the result can be the same—grief or even depression. Grief is sadness; however, depression is much heavier.

From her bed, Alexandra stared at the boxes her grandmother had left stacked in the corner of her room. No, stared wouldn’t be the right word for it. She glared. If she could have lit them all on fire with the loathing in her gaze, she would have.

Let me be clear, to get up doesn’t mean you don’t take the time to grieve. It doesn’t mean that you can’t spend an entire day or two hiding in your room. It just means that however it looks for you, don’t give up on yourself. That last part is key.

If you haven’t already, you will experience grief (likely several times) during your lifetime. Grief comes as a result of many experiences. The most common one is due to losing someone who we care about, but we can also grieve breakups, divorces, etc.

This life is guaranteed to come with trouble, challenges, and situations we wish we would not have to go through. When hardships come, they can crush us or make us stronger.

I slid down onto the bathroom floor, cell phone tucked against my ear while tears streamed down my face. On the other end of the line, my husband did the best he could to comfort me. It had been an emotionally brutal season.

In some ways, the divorce of a stepfamily is more complicated than the divorce of a biological family. There are legal requirements and visitation schedules that keep biological family members linked even after a divorce. That is not the case when it comes to stepfamily members.