(Minghui.org) I experienced dramatic changes of environment before and after my marriage. Thanks to Falun Dafa, I made it through all the difficulties and kept my family together.
Smooth Sailing Before Marriage
I was born into a happy, harmonious and middle-class family. My home environment and background made me a simple, passionate, and confident girl.
I was the first girl in my village to attend college. My experiences were pretty normal and limited to campus life.
I later met my husband. He had a very good job at an international company. His mother provided us with a room to live. My friends all admired me for having such a good marriage. The day before I got married, I was filled with hope and I looked forward to married life.
Dream Shattered After Marriage
My dreams shattered the following day. There was no wedding ceremony, no welcome party—not even a celebratory family dinner.
After my husband left for work, my mother-in-law called me into the kitchen. “What did you eat yesterday?” she said.
I thought she was being considerate. “My husband cooked noodles for me.”
Her face turned serious. “Whose noodles did you eat? Did you steal my food? Another thing: it’s your job from now on to sweep the hallway and clean the bathroom.”
I was shocked. My dream of a happy life and marriage was shattered.
Bad-Tempered Mother-in-law
I soon became pregnant. No one seemed happy about the news, and there was no celebration.
My mother-in-law did not help me at all during my pregnancy. On the contrary, she often directed her anger at me when my husband was not at home. Sometimes she would carry a cooking knife and face me in my room. She would demand to know why the knife was not cleaned properly if there was water on it.
She had a very bad temper. Her first husband died early in her marriage and her second husband was very ill. I realized later that so many painful experiences had made her bad-tempered.
Husband with Unbalanced Personality
I soon discovered that my husband had an unbalanced personality and spiritual issues. He was very eccentric. I knew that he had lived with his grandmother from a very young age and returned to his parents when he was five. His parents often beat him and maltreated him in other ways.
He had no idea about looking after me during my pregnancy. He would ask me to ride a bicycle and go hiking with him. I hesitated but didn't know how to refuse these requests. I spent most of my pregnancy in tears.
Marriage changed the simple and kind girl I used to be. I now harbored resentment and hatred toward my husband and mother-in-law.
After I gave birth, I recuperated in the hospital for eight days. My mother-in-law did not come visit once.
When my son was a year and a half, we moved out and set up our own home. Even though I had cut ties with my mother-in-law, things did not get better.
One day as I was cleaning the house, I saw my husband's notebook, which was open. I read his list of activities. One item on the list was about a lover.
Another time I noticed that my clothes were hanging on a neighbor's balcony. My husband had thrown out a bag of my clothes and a neighbor took them home.
Once the baby was ill and threw up. I called my husband to help me. He came and all he did was pinch the baby's cheeks.
One day we planned to take our son out for a hike. Just as we were ready to go, my husband backed out. Another time when we were hiking in the mountains, my son was frightened by worms. In response, my husband twisted our son's ears to hurt him, then just left.
I forgot about my own needs in trying to keep the family together. There were times when my husband and I would not speak to each other for as long as a month.
When he was angry, he would break my personal items—my necklace once, an alarm clock another time. He would bring his lover to our home and told me they studied the stock market together. He never cared about my feelings.
Ill from Anger and Stress
Ten years of marriage life deepened my hatred and resentment against my husband and mother-in-law. It also brought me many illnesses.
From my deeply held anger and stress, I developed tuberculosis, low blood pressure and an irregular heartbeat. I lost myself. I was so puzzled because I didn't know why life was so painful.
Falun Dafa Changes Me and My Husband
When our son was nine years old, I started practicing Falun Dafa. I became bright and light. I understood the principle that all these tribulations came from my own karma and the debts I owed from a previous life.
I was immersed in joy and excitement. Finally, I found the purpose of life: to cultivate and return to my true home in the heavens.
Dafa changed me. My eyes shone brightly again because I lived with hope. Still only in my 30s, I had found my true self and regained my health.
Apart from work and doing housework, I spent most of my time studying Dafa books, doing the exercises, and introducing the Fa to others. I took part in a Fa study group every day.
This angered my husband. He tore up my Dafa books and broke the video tapes of Teacher's lectures. This wrenched my heart.
Yet, no matter how badly he treated me, I followed the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion and Forbearance and treated him well. I did all the housework and treated him warmly. I changed from the bottom of my heart.
His cold face changed day by day to a smiling one. One night I watched the video of Teacher's lectures. He watched a little, too. The following day he said, “Your Teacher's lectures are great.”
When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) started the persecution of Falun Dafa, I went to Beijing to tell government the facts. I left home without letting my husband know. He went to Beijing twice to look for me.
I thought he would give me a big beating when we met in Beijing. I could never have imagined that, when he found me, he only patted my shoulder gently and said, “It's so nice to find you.” I never dreamed that I had such an important place in his heart.
Dafa Gives Me Power to Go Through Difficulties in Life
My husband's unstable mind often kept him in a bad mood and he developed many diseases—high blood pressure, prostatitis, and degeneration of his back muscles.
He did not get along well with his colleagues at work. One day he resigned just because he couldn't accept some management decisions. He came home and no longer wanted to work.
At this time our son was in high school and preparing for college entrance exams. My husband's salary had been double mine, but now he became a financial drain. I became depressed. Then I thought that, as a Dafa practitioner, I could make it through these difficulties.
I treated him well as usual and helped our son with his studies. One year later our son was admitted to one of the top national universities.
Dafa practitioners are so blessed. Though the whole family depended on me financially, Dafa gave me strength and helped me get through one difficulty after another.
During these difficult years, I was offered opportunities from time to time to work part time on weekends, so I made enough money to support our son at school. He graduated and now has a very good job.
My husband has changed. He smiles every day. His face is transformed and his expression looks very nice. He often expresses his appreciation towards Dafa and Teacher for allowing him to have such a great wife and for changing his mentality and defective character.
He has now returned to work part time and also helps with the housework. He often practices the Falun Gong exercises with me and says he likes it. Most of his illnesses have disappeared.
Recently I learned that my mother-in-law had difficulties in walking. She is in her eighties, so I invited her to live with us and now take care of her. She soon recovered and can now walk outside and go shopping on her own. She also cooks for herself. The Buddha light truly illuminates everywhere at a Dafa practitioner's home.
One day I ran into one of my husband's former colleagues. She was surprised when she saw me. “You still look so young. I admire you so much for keeping your family together.”
I told her it's all because Dafa gave me strength and helped me through all these tribulations.
Thank you, Teacher, for your infinite grace. It's your great power that saved me and my family.
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