Do you have experiences where your child/children had to choose whether or not to participate or were not allowed to participate in sports/church/clubs because scheduling visitation does not allow for their participation. One of the more serious issues for our family when we began as a step family, was to face sports seasons. Our local coaches felt if you missed two practices you were off the team. Our children’s natural dad lived 70 miles away and only saw them on alternate weekends. Every baseball season we’d make 5 practices during the week, but by about the 3rd weekend my child would be very torn regarding practice vs time with his dad. Of course, DAD won, but son lost. He would have to choose…and in that choice miss something very important to a little boy….his baseball season.
We feel strongly that organizations do need the respect of attendance for teams and groups one commits to, but children are children and should not have to choose between parent time and group time. They have lose enough in losing an original family, why should it be set up so they lose more? We have had the same tough choices for youth camps with their Sunday school group, concerts prepared for but never participated in because there was only one weekend performance, and youth church programs that always met on weekend nights only when they were gone.
We, as a church, have to stop and realize that there are all kinds of families that cannot do Sunday night only activities. Workers that do shift work cannot take off Sunday shifts, we must learn to offer worship experiences at all times in our often empty buildings. Night workers, emergency workers, hospital staffs, all need time with God and corporate worship too!
Share with us your time/organizational struggles with your own step or blended families….we’re being asked to tell the real stories and we need them to tell!

God is God! He is good!