Biblical Wisdom for Your Relationship With Your In-Laws, with Barbara and Stacy Reaoch
Tense. Hurtful. Frustrating. Do these have to be the words we use to describe our relationship with our in-laws? Discover a better way with Mother-in-Law/Daughter-in-Law duo Barbara and Stacy Reaoch in this episode of Grounded.
Connect with Barbara
Connect with Stacy
Episode Notes
Pre-order Barbara and Stacy’s book, Making Room for Her
Ruth: Experiencing a Life Restored
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Erin Davis: Welcome back to Grounded. This is a videocast and a podcast from Revive Our Hearts. I'm Erin Davis.
Portia Collins: And I'm Portia Collins. Erin, we missed you last week, girl.
Erin: Oh, I missed y'all too. I was in Nashville working on a really fun project. But wowza! What episode you and Dannah did with Colleen! She is such a hope ambassador, isn't she?
Portia: You know, first of all, Colleen is my new best friend. So, Colleen, if …
Tense. Hurtful. Frustrating. Do these have to be the words we use to describe our relationship with our in-laws? Discover a better way with Mother-in-Law/Daughter-in-Law duo Barbara and Stacy Reaoch in this episode of Grounded.
Connect with Barbara
Connect with Stacy
Episode Notes
Pre-order Barbara and Stacy’s book, Making Room for Her
Ruth: Experiencing a Life Restored
--------------
Erin Davis: Welcome back to Grounded. This is a videocast and a podcast from Revive Our Hearts. I'm Erin Davis.
Portia Collins: And I'm Portia Collins. Erin, we missed you last week, girl.
Erin: Oh, I missed y'all too. I was in Nashville working on a really fun project. But wowza! What episode you and Dannah did with Colleen! She is such a hope ambassador, isn't she?
Portia: You know, first of all, Colleen is my new best friend. So, Colleen, if you’re watching girl, hey, girl, hey.
Erin: I hope she is watching.
Portia: I love her. I love her. I love being able to chat with her. I get so much wisdom and just hope after a conversation with her. It was just great. And you know what else I love? I love how many of you tell us that you don't miss an episode . . . even when Erin decides to skip out and go to Nashville. One of our viewers that goes by the name of Triumph447 wrote this, “I put an appointment for this on my phone so that it notifies me to tune in every week.” So, girl after my heart, I'm your appointment. I love those notifications.
Erin: Yes, I can't survive without my phone notifications. You make your dentist appointments, you make your doctor appointments, and you need to make your Grounded appointment. You may have noticed, things have gotten a little crazy in Erin’s Monday morning. I got this cold that makes me sound like Darth Vader. My computer and camera aren't working this morning. So, I'm going low tech, but I'm here. And we're here every single week, because we have a mission and that is to hand out hope and perspective.
Portia: Absolutely. That's our mission. That's what we're gonna do, even when we’ve got tech issues or whatever.
Erin: Even though we’ve got a stack of Kleenex. We're gonna do that, too.
Portia: If you’ve got to cough, step to the side. I’ve got your back girl, okay. Well, today's episode might be on a topic where it can be hard to find biblical hope and perspective. Two little words can pack a big, massive punch.
Erin: Okay, give them to us.
Portia: In-laws.
Erin: Ooh, in-laws, you just changed the temperature of the room a little bit there, Portia. And as we all know, nobody's gonna let us forget it, but it's the holiday season. I'm wondering, rhetorically, I do not want you to put the answers to these questions in the chat. But have there been some passive-aggressive comments shared at maybe the Thanksgiving table, or some of your holiday gatherings? Or maybe there have been some aggressive-aggressive comments shared in some of your family gatherings.
I once heard that the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is the most fragile of all human relationships, and I believe it. So, we really want to honor our own in-laws with this episode. We're not gonna be throwing anybody under the bus—I promise our mother-in-laws, our sister-in-laws, our brother-in-laws, our extended family. But we also want to be honest and say that there could be some very real challenges that come with merging with a whole family, everything that goes with that, aunts, cousins, all of that.
Portia: Absolutely. I know the realness of that. So quick, very quick storytime. My sister-in-law and I (and she's okay with me sharing this, so I'm not talking behind her back), we initially didn't have the best relationship. This is my husband's oldest sister. We weren't the best buddies, initially. But we were brought together by God. We both love, love Jesus. We started observing each other's relationship with the Lord. And that is what really helped to foster a healthy relationship between us. And now, get this, she is one of my very best friends.
Erin: That's gonna give somebody some hope this morning, because I know there are women watching, and we have women from around the world watching this morning, for whom there is an in-law relationship, and they think there's no hope. But you are a testimony. Here's my big question this morning. Does it have to be this way when it comes to our in-laws? Or can we have genuine connections with our in-laws? And more importantly, does the Bible has anything to say about that? So, we're not just going to share our stories, we're always going to point you to God's Word.
We've got a mother-in-law, daughter-in-law, superhero team here this morning, Barbara and Stacy Reaoch. They're going to be joining us in just a minute, and they're going to share biblical wisdom for a healthier relationship with your mother-in-law, or your daughter in law, and I'm sure it applies to all of your in-laws and family relationships.
Portia: Absolutely. And guess what? Ray And Robyn McKelvy are back with us.
Erin: And this is my Ray and Robyn dance.
Portia: They are back with us. Y’all know we love it when Ray and Robyn are here. They are going to share their building blocks for families based on Romans 12. So, you don't want to miss out.
Today’s Good News . . . Even in the Midst of Bad News (15:40)
Erin: Yeah, go ahead and get your Bible open to Romans 12. But first, we got to have some good news. And that's all you, P, take it away.
Portia: I am ready. Well, today's good news story can be told with a single snapshot. Check out this picture. You might look at that and think you're looking at a family or group of friends. But the real story behind this photo is much more moving. The man in the center of that group hood hook, the one in the blue polo is David Nelson. And that picture was taken just moments before he was taken to prison to begin a three-year sentence. And those people surrounding him are the family members of the man that David killed when he struck the car of Verlin Stringy in a drunk driving accident.
Verlin was a beloved pastor for more than 25 years, and he lost his life in this accident. His obituary read that his life goal was to share the love of Jesus Christ with anyone and everyone. Though Verlin is in heaven, his family and members of his church show Christ's love as David was convicted. They actually stood up in the courtroom and moved toward him, telling him that they forgave him and that they had been praying for him since the accident happened. And then get this. This is what happened. That pose. They wrapped that man in their arms, the man who had killed their husband, father, Pastor. They wrapped him in their arms. And that's what it looks like to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
The prosecutor in the case started crying in the courtroom, and the judge was said to be totally stunned. And you know, I‘ve just heard 1,000 sermons. But that one single photo, arms reaching out toward the condemned, that's the gospel. Verlin's last sermon before he was killed was on the power of forgiveness. And the people who heard that sermon are living it out. And that, my friends, is good news.
Erin: Oh, Portia. I love that good news story. I often tell my husband Jason what the good news stories are. I told him this one, and he teared up. He is this burly bearded man, but he was like (crying sound), just so tender that they offered him that forgiveness. That just happened a couple of weeks ago that that man was convicted and sent to prison. Thanks, Portia.
Grounded in Our In-Law Relationships: Interview with Barbara and Stacey Reaoch (18:36)
Portia: Yes, you're welcome. Well, now it's time to get grounded with God with God's people.
I have Barbara and Stacy react with us this morning. They are a mother-in-law, daughter-in-law duo superheroes. They are authors of a new book. It's entitled Making Room for Her: Biblical Wisdom for a Healthier Relationship with Your Mother-in-Law or Daughter-in-Law. Barbara is also the former director of the children's division of Bible Study Fellowship International. So if there are any BSF ladies watching, say “hi.” But welcome to Grounded Barbara and Stacy. So glad to have you.
Barbara Reaoch: Thanks, Portia.
Portia: Good deal. All right. So, let's dive straight in. Writing the book about in-law relationships is a brave move. Even though my sister-in-law and I have a good relationship now, I don't know if we could write a book together about it. So, I want to know, Barbara, and Stacy you can chime in, what prompted you to tackle this subject?
Barbara: Well, Portia, when we were asked to write a book on this subject, both Stacy and I felt like, “Oh my goodness, we have not perfected this mother-in-law / daughter-in-law relationship, even after 20 years. We had also talked with many women who were struggling in this relationship. So, we did not know, we did not have the instant advice to give everyone. But as we prayed, God prompted us to remember that His Word is full of truth and counsel on what this relationship should be all about. I can say, and I hope I speak for Stacy too, that God gave us a beautiful love for one another as we navigated through this journey of writing this book. Our purpose in it, we trust, is to give that same hope to others.
Portia: Amen, amen, I love it. I love that already. Let me follow up. I guess my question here is why do you think that in-law relationships are often so fragile?
Stacy Reaoch: Well, I can start to answer that one. I mean, I think it's such an interesting dynamic, because it's two women who love the same man. And, you know, here's the mother who's poured into him, who's birthed him and fed him and driven him to probably hundreds of practices and been so invested in this life. And then there comes along a new woman who loves him and is invested in him, who is starting a new life and a new family. Navigating those changes for the mother-in-law, kind of stepping aside and letting the daughter-in-law come in . . . I think everyone is just kind of figuring out what is my new role?
You know, do we keep the same traditions that my husband had with his family growing up? Or is it okay for us to start new things? And, how do we honor our parents and her in-laws while still leaving and cleaving and starting a new family?
Portia: Look, all of this resonates so deeply with me. Because just learning how to navigate the holidays, my husband and I are both big family people as it pertains to our respective families. And so, learning how to blend that without offending anybody. Definitely. It was tough. I guess, Barbara, I'll shoot this one to you. I love the fact that you've written on this topic, not just from your own experience as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but through a biblical lens. I want to know, how does the Bible provide hope and perspective in redefining our relationships with our in-laws?
Barbara: Oh, that's such a good question, Portia. And to take along to what Stacy was just saying about roles, and the changes and roles that came along in life. It was really in God's Word that I realized that He moves us along in these different roles in life. But we have one identity, and that's that we are God's child, and we have a purpose in life. The Scriptures tell us to know Him and to love Him and to glorify Him.
So when I entered this mother-in-law role, it meant that there was a loss in the way that I had always operated and related before to my son and our family. But the question was, would I move on with what the Lord was showing me to do now? And so, my role God showed me is to serve and support as a mother-in-law. The example in Scripture of Moses kind of passing the baton to Joshua was just so meaningful to me as we wrote this book. Moses didn't lose any of who he was when his role changed. He was still a child of God; his role was to glorify God. He knew this. Then he was to serve and encourage Joshua in this new role that God was giving him. So, I see that as a big game changer for me as a mother-in-law and perhaps for others.
Portia: Yes, I love it. Y’all are just dropping so many wisdom bombs, and I love it. I love it. Now, obviously, you two have written a book together. So, I am assuming that your relationship is in a good place. But was there ever a time that you struggled or experienced more tension in your relationship? And Stacy, I'm looking at you specifically, how did God help you navigate through that?
Stacy: Yeah, I mean, I think there's definitely been seasons that have been harder. Even when Ben and I first got married, Barb and Ron were living in the U.S.. But then just weeks after we got married, they moved to Cape Town, South Africa. And so, the first seven years of our marriage, they were in South Africa, we were in the States, and really going through a lot of major life changes—going to seminary, having our first baby, like moving to a couple different states.
I think there was a challenge of just staying connected. And this was before, dating us, but this was before video chats, and Zoom calls were available. I felt like that distance did make it harder to connect, and especially at a deeper level.
And as I became a mom, and we're excited to share our joy of parenting and our babies with Barb and Ron, it was harder just because of the distance and those challenges with that.
Portia: Yeah, I totally, totally understand that. Well, right now, I know that there is a woman sitting here. She's watching Grounded or listening to Grounded right now. And she is thinking that her relationship with her mother-in-law or her daughter-in-law is beyond repair. She's probably seen y'all as a picture of perfection and thinks that it's not possible for her. And so, Stacy, I want to first ask you, can you speak a few words of encouragement to that woman who may be discouraged with her in-law relationship right now? And Barbara, after Stacy finishes, would you mind closing our time by praying over any woman who may be experiencing this struggle?
Stacy: Yeah, that's a great question, because it is a challenging relationship. I have spoken to so many women that it's a huge hurt. But God is the God of the impossible. He changes our hearts. I think even starting to pray for your own heart, to pray for your own heart to soften towards your in-law that you might be holding a grudge against because of past offenses, or things that have happened.
God starts by changing us. And as He changes our hearts, and we pray for our in-law, and we put into practice His Word, we overlook offenses, and we put on love and compassion, God can change those relationships and can draw us together. And I think sometimes even in the hardest times of life in our suffering, or maybe your in-law, those are ways that the Lord often pulls us together in unexpected ways. Ways that you can minister to her and in ways that you can meet her needs and show your love in a tangible way.
Portia: I love that. Barbara.
Barbara: Shall I pray?
Portia: Yes, please.
Barbara: Gracious heavenly Father, You are the master of relationships. You have made us Your children, and we have the joy of knowing You as Father. You promised to fill us with Your Spirit and help us to love and forgive as You have loved and forgiven us. So, we do pray for those who are deeply challenged and hurt today by broken relationships. I pray that You will give them that hope that they need that You are at work, whether they can see You tangibly right now or not, and that You promised to restore what the enemy is stealing away and as they wait for You. I pray that You would give them strength in their relationship with You so that they sense Your love in a very personal way in their life.
And Lord, I pray for those relationships that are so key toward raising the next generation of children in our family. I pray that You would bless these families and strengthen them so that our entire family might glorify You and honor You in the days ahead. We ask this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Portia: Amen. Amen. Well, I could just sit and talk to you and glean from your wisdom all day long, but I don't want to take up all the time. So, I do want to thank you so much for being with us today and for all that you have shared. Grace and peace to you and my sisters.
Stacy: Thank you, Portia.
Barbara: Thanks, Portia.
Erin: Ooh, that was good. As they were talking, a memory bubbled up in my heart that I had totally forgotten about. That was Jason’s and my first Christmas. His mom brought his Christmas ornaments he'd been getting every year since he was a baby. She thought I would be so excited to put them on the tree, and I did not put them on the tree. I put them back in the bin and put them in the basement. I would go back and do that differently now. But that's just one of the ways that sometimes we can hurt each other. I loved Barbara and Stacy's encouragement to minister to each other.
Well, Ray and Robyn McKelvy are with us. They're kind of our family experts here on Grounded, and they know life can be complicated. They're going to take us to Romans 12. And they're going to give us some principles straight from Scripture to build our families on. So, take it away, Ray and Robyn.
Grounded in Truth: Romans 12 with Ray and Robyn McKelvy (31:14)
Ray McKelvy: Thank you, Erin. We are so glad to be with you. We did not know that you were gonna be in Nashville. We would have had you over for dinner or something. Right?
Erin: Oh, next time. I’ll come find you.
Robyn McKelvy: You missed homemade roast.
Erin: Oh man.
Ray: All right. Well, you want to get it started then.
Robyn: Yeah, I love this. In-law situations have not been easy when we married. He's from a family. And it's a very blended family, but a lot of people. And I'm from a family of 10 kids, so another lot of people, and we all have our ideas of what it should look like—especially around these holiday times. But what Ray and I realize is the foundation of building a wise relationship with your in-laws starts with us, with us being one.
Ray: A lot of people forget that. They start focusing in on the in-law relationship and what's happening there. But really, the strength comes from realizing we are one, we're on the same team. And God is creating something new and us as a married couple.
Robyn: That's right. Two individuals who are raised in two different households with varying degrees of disciplines, church relationships, and touchy-feely relationships, just everything, even the household responsibilities. You're merging all of this. But as you grow and mature in this relationship, you see that God has divine wisdom in all that He creates. And learning to lovingly live with your spouse raised differently than yourself, gives you a whole new perspective on life and what truly is important.
Ray: I was thinking of Genesis 2:24. I know it's not in Romans, but this verse, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and he's going to cleave to his wife.” (paraphrase) And so, I think that's the foundation right there. Realizing that there is a place of priority in our relationship, even though we are very different. We could go to story after story after story of how Robyn blew it in that area.
Robyn: Oh stop.
Ray: Not really, I think it was more on my part.
Robyn: Well, let's share one story. One story in particular was immediately after Ray and I got married, his aunt was getting married. There were some things that transpired before the wedding. I felt like we should not have played a part in the wedding.
Ray: Well, okay. Yeah, we had both agreed that we wouldn't participate in a wedding of this sort without going into details. And we decided that together. But then after I realized, wait a minute, I didn't know this was gonna happen. I didn't know that my aunt would find ourselves in this situation. But it's my mom's sister. And so, Robyn said, we already agreed we wouldn't be a part of the wedding. And so in our immaturity, or in my immaturity, I ended up choosing sides with my aunt, with my extended family, over my wife, and that took a little bit of repair.
Robyn: Yes, so when you realize that this is priority, this relationship with your husband, or husband's relationship with a wife is priority, then you can mend those things that hurt. And so, these are some building blocks that we built our life on, straight from God's Word. We feel like that when you put these blocks together, you're building into your relationship. And then you add the extended or the in-law family. The first one, go ahead.
Ray: Okay, the first one, we've been hinting at it already, but the first one is remember: you are each other's priority. It's our family. It's not your family.
Robyn: Or it's not your family, real people.
Ray: Yeah, yeah. Which I've heard. Yeah.
Robyn: But move away from that. Remember, it's our family. Now.
Ray: That's right.
Robyn: Even the extended family that brings in, it's our family. And then building block number two, don't expect your spouse's family to be like your family. Don't expect your spouse's family of origin to be like your family of origin. We see this even now that our kids are getting married. They marry into different families that are raised differently. So as a result of that, don't fight over some of the things that you end up fighting over.
Ray: For instance, with this being the holiday season, Christmas season, how do you celebrate Christmas? We were lavished on as kids. I grew up in a single parent home. My mom was 16 years old when I was born. And so, a lot of her desire was to provide things that we wouldn't normally have. And so, Christmas was magical. For us, we would wake up with all sorts of gifts, and I only had one brother and one sister. Then Robyn came from a different family.
Robyn: A family of 10. And there were times when we only had one gift or two under the tree. And that was enough because it was built around our family of origin. We had big, big meals together on Christmas. We did a lot of things together on Christmas. So how do you merge that when you get married? Remember your spouse’s family will not be like your family.
Ray: That's true. Number three, learn creative ways to serve your spouse's family. I mean, there are creative ways that you can connect with your in-laws. I remember when I first went to Robyn's house, actually, to ask her dad if I could date her. This goes back a while. But before we were even dating, I had never had a conversation about dating Robyn, I just showed up at our house. Now we knew each other, obviously, but I showed up at her house and asked her dad if I could date her. And he was like, “Have you talked to Rob yet?”
And I said, “No, I wanted to talk to you first.”
And I remember her dad looking at me and said, “Young man, I like you.”
But then her mother who was back in the kitchen, I get to hear her say, “What about my opinion?
And I can tell you, I had to win my future mother-in-law over, and there was a creative way. We ended up liking a lot of the same books. So I would call her, or we would get together and occasionally talk about the same books that we were reading. And that's a small creative way to get to know her.
Robyn: Yeah. Years ago, I put into my memory banks . . . I mean, I grew up in a pastor's house, but didn't accept Christ until I was 21. I wanted to know the Word, so I memorized Romans chapter 12. I really wanted my life to be a living sacrifice. I wanted to be a servant of God. That was fine when it was just me. And it was even fine when it was Ray and I as we married, because we wanted our family to bring glory to God. We wanted even the lives of our children to bring glory to God. But when I thought about when it comes to in-laws what Romans 12, verses 9 through 11 says, this is something we need to practice when it comes to our in-laws.
It says this, “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil, cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love, honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor serving the Lord.”
And I think that this is so important because building block number four says this, don't elevate your family as better. It's not right or wrong. It's just different. Ray’s family wasn't right or wrong. It was just different. My family wasn't right, even though I believed that it was always right. But it wasn't always right.
Ray: I have to say that's a hard one, not to elevate your own family. To feel like what you practice, what you have, what you have done is better. But as Romans 12 tells us that, especially in those verses after verse 9, it has a whole attitude of humility, that we are to humble ourselves, that we are to prefer others. That's the way we are to do with our in-laws, prefer them, above your own family, elevate them.
Robyn: And then number 5, represent your spouse's point of view to your family. It's so important that you allow your family to see we're in a team, we're going to fight for this relationship. So, you need to make sure you stand firm on what you know about your spouse in the presence of your biological family.
Ray: I think that's so important. I don't want you guys to just let that slide by but there. Robyn came from a family where they were very direct, their communication was open. It scared me a little bit because my family, we didn't really deal with things. We just sweep things under the rug. My family had to get used to the way my wife communicated. I had to represent her point of view to them. I had to say to them, even when Robin wasn't around, hey, here's how my wife sees life. She doesn't mean any harm when she just tells it straight like it is. But she loves you. That really created a flourishing atmosphere, because I represented my wife to my family.
Robyn: Thank you. It was important that he did that on my behalf. And the same to my family that I did it on his behalf. And then our final building block today is building block number six, sometimes you have to protect your spouse from their own family. And I can say Ray has done this for me over and over and over again.
Ray: When I think of her family of origin, they always say our family-in-love. So, we've grown a lot in this area. But at the beginning, I remember having to set boundaries for her. Sometimes she would come away from conversations, feeling hurt or misunderstood from her own siblings. I remember having to step in and say, Okay, we're going to go over, but we're only gonna spend this amount of time.” Over the years, those relationships have strengthened as we've all matured. I think we're almost out of time.
Robyn: Okay, well, let's just hear one final thing.
Ray: Okay.
Robyn: I think it's very important that you fight for this relationship. The enemy loves evil. And the Bible tells us to hate what is evil, but cling to what is good. And so, it's so important that you fight for these relationships. You're not just building a legacy with yourself and your spouse. You're building a legacy that extends much bigger than the legacy between the two of you.
If you love Jesus, you're building His legacy. You're able to represent Him to people far reaching, because you have a relationship with their son or daughter. So, make sure that you never lack in zeal, keep your spiritual fervor and serve the Lord. Even in the difficult relationships with your in-laws.
Erin: Sometimes I forget I host Grounded. I just get absorbed in the wisdom that's being shared? And that just happened? That was so good. Ray, did you have a final thought?
Ray: You know, I was just gonna say in Romans, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” Yeah, there we go.
Erin: Thank you. So much wisdom. I wish that I had had this crash course 20 years ago when I was getting ready to get married. But I can apply it now. So, I'm so grateful.
The Good Stuff (44:11)
Hey, we always want to equip you with some tools to help you stay Grounded all week long. I did want to mention Barbara and Stacy's book. It's called Making Room for Her. And if you want to order it right now and have it with Amazon Prime two-day shipping, you're going to be a little bit out of luck, because it doesn't release till February. We jumped the gun because we thought this conversation was important before you guys are having Christmas dinner. But I think you can pre-order Making Room for Her by Barbara and Stacy Reaoch.
Then there is a Revive Our Hearts Bible study that came to mind as I was thinking about this episode. It's on the book of Ruth. The title is Ruth: Experiencing a Life Restored. And the reason that occurred to me is, of course, that is an in-law relationship—Ruth and Naomi. When Ruth said those famous words, “Where you go, I will go; where you lie, I will lie.” Many of us say this at our wedding. She wasn't speaking to a spouse; she was speaking to her mother-in-law. So, I do think there is a lot to be gleaned about what in-law relationships look like from that Bible study.
Again, it's Ruth: Experiencing a Life Restored. It's a six-week Bible study. There's a podcast series to go with it. Portia and I will be there. So, we'll drop the link to help you find that Bible study, if you want to check it out.
Portia: What a good episode, Erin. I am just saturated. And honestly, I feel very blessed. I'm looking at some comments here. And Joanna said, “Where was this wisdom 30 years ago?”
Erin: Yeah, I feel that way too.
Portia: I’m five years into marriage. I get to get this type of wisdom now, so I'm really, really happy. Kathy says, “Wisdom overflowing.” Bea Thomas says, “This hit a home today. Though I'm not married. My sister got married quickly, and it's been painful and disruptive to our whole family. We don't talk much anymore.” We just want to say, “We're praying that the Lord will restore your relationship, and that you guys will find harmony and love and blending between your two families.”
I mean, there are so many good comments, girl, one more. Melody says, “I was so blessed to love my mother-in-law and be loved by her. She's been in Heaven since 2000. I’m full of fond memories.”
Some other generational i- law relationships are a bit challenging.
Erin: Yeah, I think that's so sweet that there's sweet and sour, right? In our all of our relationships, including our in-law relationship for me, you know, I have four sons . . . So, a source of real worry, if I'm being honest as well, is that my daughter-in-law’s like me. Will I have healthy, happy relationships with my daughter-in-laws someday. Because that really steers the direction of my son's families. I think there’s a lot to pray about from this episode, even for future in-law relationships.
Well, we'll be back here next week, probably with Kleenexes. Hopefully not. And even if our computer equipment is on the fringe, we will be here. But we might need to wear our ugly sweaters because next week, Dan Darling is going to be with us. I don't know if he's gonna wear an ugly sweater or not. But he's bringing some friends along. Joseph, Mary, the shepherds. We're gonna be talking about the characters of Christmas and how they speak into our lives today. So set that reminder. We talked about that at the top of the episode.
Portia: I think I'm gonna pull out my sweater.
Erin: I think I'm gonna do it too.
Portia: And don't forget to set that alarm so you don't miss it. Let's wake up with help together next week on Grounded.
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