143 Ghosts of Marriage Past—Dealing with Relationship Baggage
Ghosts of marriage past—triggers from past hurt that we carry into a new relationship—are common for blended family couples. But emotional ghosts don’t just appear from relationship baggage. We can be triggered by childhood wounds, grief, or other hurts that leave a residue on our heart and create hypersensitivity to getting hurt again. As a result, we guard our heart and resist vulnerability in our relationships.
In this episode, Ron Deal speaks with Gayla Grace about how to recognize our ghosts and take responsibility to move past our fears. Ron and Gayla both share ghosts they’ve wrestled with and how to have conversations with your partner that build trust in your relationship.
Show Notes
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About the Guest
Gayla Grace
Gayla Grace serves on staff with FamilyLife Blended, a division of FamilyLife, is the founder of Stepparenting with Grace, and co-founder of Sisterhood of Stepmoms.
She is a writer, speaker, and coach on stepfamily life and is passionate about equipping blended families. She holds a master’s degree in Psychology and Counseling and is the author of Stepparenting With Grace: A Devotional for Blended Families and co-author of Quiet Moments for the Stepmom Soul and Unwrapping the Gift of Stepfamily Peace.
Gayla and her husband, Randy, have been married since 1995 in a “his, hers, and ours” family. She is the mom to three and stepmom to two young adults. Gayla and Randy are recent empty nesters and live in Conway, AR.
Twitter: @GaylaGrace
Instagram: @FamilyLifeBlended
Facebook: @FamilyLifeBlended
Website: www.familylife.com/blended
Gayla Grace serves on staff with FamilyLife Blended, a division of FamilyLife, and is passionate about equipping blended families as a writer and a speaker. She is author of Stepparenting with Grace: A Devotional for Blended Families and co-author of Quiet Moments for the Stepmom Soul. Gayla holds a master’s degree in Psychology and Counseling. She and her husband, Randy, have been married since 1995 in a “his, hers, and ours” family. She is the mom to three and stepmom to two young adults.
About the Host
Ron Deal
Ron L. Deal is one of the most widely read and viewed experts on blended families in the country. He is Director of FamilyLife Blended® for FamilyLife®, founder of Smart Stepfamilies™, and the author and Consulting Editor of the Smart Stepfamily Series of books including the bestselling Building Love Together in Blended Families: The 5 Love Languages® and Becoming Stepfamily Smart (with Dr. Gary Chapman), The Smart Stepfamily: 7 Steps to a Healthy Family, and Preparing to Blend. Ron is a licensed marriage and family therapist, popular conference speaker, and host of the FamilyLife Blended podcast. He and his wife, Nan, have three sons and live in Little Rock, Arkansas. Learn more at FamilyLife.com/blended.