I HATED MY DAUGHTER’S
MOTHER-IN-LAW
For many years, my daughter’s mother-in-law was someone I deeply disliked. Whenever I had the chance to say something unflattering about her to my daughter, she always changed the subject. I see now she didn’t want to make me feel bad if she defended her mother-in-law but she also wouldn’t allow me to speak badly of her. To me this woman was the quintessential “church lady.” I attended church from time to time but wasn’t a fanatic like she was. She taught my grandkids Bible stories and encouraged them to be in church. My daughter’s family and her in-laws all attended the same church in town. That annoyed me also.
Everything changed five years ago. My husband and I were involved in an auto accident that did great damage to us physically. Although our injuries were not life-threatening they were still severe enough to completely change everything for almost half a year. We couldn’t drive for months. It was a long, painful and difficult recovery. At least at first it was. Until that woman forced her way in to our lives.
A few days after our accident, she came with her son and my daughter one evening. Although I had labeled her a phony, I couldn’t deny she seemed truly sincere about feeling bad that we were hurting. When that first visit ended, she asked if we would mind if she visited again the next day. Before I could think of a reason she could not come, my husband said, “’That would be GREAT!” She asked if there was anything she could bring us and he immediately told her he’d been wanting a strawberry milk shake. I was shocked. We never drank milkshakes! The next day she was there with one for him and one for me. When she left I was sorry to see her go.
She kept asking how she could help. We needed help so we accepted it from her. She devoted hours to us each day. She did grocery shopping. She brought the grandchildren when their parents were too busy to bring them. Although I had been cold, hateful and aloof toward her for many years, she was genuinely warm and loving toward me and my husband. Finally, I asked her, “Why are you being so kind to us?”
Her answer changed our lives. Forever. The first thing that surprised me was that she didn’t present herself as a naturally altruistic person. She talked about Jesus and how good He is. She explained how His love changed her from the inside out. It was Jesus loving us, she explained. He was using her to do so. One day, she asked if she could pray for us. My husband instantly agreed. I can’t explain it, but as she prayed I felt peace. As the weeks wore on, her love never wore out. She loved Jesus so completely that we were starting to love Him ourselves. She asked if she could read a Bible verse and we agreed. Soon she was reading whole chapters. It’s like He was alive and not just a religion. It didn’t take long for us to decide we needed Jesus. He became the most important thing in the world to us. He still is.
If you are someone who is facing an extremely tough situation right now, the only thing that brought me any comfort was the love of Jesus. All the darkness disappeared. All because one woman was willing to love two people who didn’t even like her. She loved us because she loved Him. My husband and I are blessed and honored to head up a ministry at church that does for others what was done for us. We know first-hand that God sends His comfort through His people to all people. If you need comfort, ask Him and He will send it. If you do not need comfort at this moment, ask Him and He will send you.
“Comfort, comfort my people,” says your God.
Isaiah 40:1
Mature Living Magazine - January 2021
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