Falling in love with one's stepchild
I am responding to the blogs I have read today about stepfather's who lust after, even fall in love with, their stepdaughters. I do think that our sexual nature has within it this challenge of feeling attracted to a stepchild who is reaching sexual maturity, and who has become a very attractive and endearing young person. Here is where I feel, it is within each person to deal with themselves on this issue, as the adult, mature human being one is, but simply putting one's mind on a diet, so to speak. This is the kind of problem that can wreak havoc within a family structure.
I do think this is a pitfall of human nature, that our sexual nature makes us pretty much drawn all of our lives to everyone who is even remotely attractive to us. It makes monogamy and faithfulness a challenging commitment for everyone. I think every single person ever has had feelings towards another person while being with someone else. This, however, involves the being a parent; and that is a boundary that a person within themselves needs to honor. There are internal boundaries that we can simply put on ourselves which basically say to ourselves that is against our own moral and healthy value system.
I read years back that within a marriage, you must not do something which you cannot openly share with your partner. Otherwise, you are beginning to be unfaithful in small ways, which can lead to actually being unfaithful completely. There are boundaries I know that within my marriage I must consider because doing things without openness breeds this kind of obsession. This definitely is an obsession that is unhealthy for all considered, though, it probably happens a great deal. It is only when the person thinks it means something, and gives it some significance, this could fester and grow.
Health to all and good thoughts. Cindy McBeth