(Minghui.org) My parents-in-law live in the countryside. They have three daughters and two sons. My husband is the youngest, and the only one who attended university, He became a teacher. His siblings are all farmers. We live away from his family, and my in-laws believed they could not count on us to support them in their old age, so they treated the older son better than my husband.
My mother-in-law did not take good care of me after I gave birth. I needed to go back to work after maternity leave, and asked her to look after our baby for two months before my mother took over. She agreed, but went back home six days later, and didn’t show up again. I was so angry.
My parents-in-law loved their grandson from my husband’s older bother much more than our daughter. They never came to visit her, but took good care of their grandson.
I felt they mistreated us, so we rarely visited them. I didn’t quarrel, but I held a grudge against them. Whenever my husband quarreled with me, I would bring up all of the bad things his parents did to us. I made up my mind that I would get even with them in the future when they would need our care.
Treating My In-laws Kindly
I started practicing Falun Dafa in 1998. The Fa principles awakened my conscience, and I understood that my tribulations were caused by karma. When others treated me badly, I could pay off my karma. At the same time, Dafa teaches people to be good, and it made me realize how terrible my thoughts were about my in-laws. I decided to repay the grievances with virtue, and treat my in-laws kindly.
But it was easier said than done, as my anger and resentment toward them was thick as ice. Whenever resentment popped up, I would study the Fa, because Dafa could open my heart, and firm up my righteous thoughts.
I kept in mind Master’s teaching, “Let each and every thing be measured against the Fa. Only then, with that, is it actually cultivation.” (“Solid Cultivation” Hong Yin)
Even if I couldn’t let go of all my resentment at once, I asked myself at least to treat them kindly. I first started being nice to my father-in-law.
A couple of years after I obtained the Fa, my father-in-law suffered a stroke and was in a vegetative state. He passed away three years later. During the summer time of those three years, I brought my in-laws to stay with us. In the first two years, we lived in the school-assigned apartment with only two bedrooms. As there wasn’t enough rooms we borrowed our neighbor’s vacated apartment for my in-laws to stay in. In the third year, we bought a house, and my in-laws lived with us. Realizing that my father-in-law was dying, we took him back to his hometown. We arrived there at 9:00 p.m., and he passed away the next day.
After the funeral, my mother-in-law lived in our home for a while, then went back the countryside to live by herself.
One night in October 2012, when she was 77 years old, she had a heart attack and was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU).The doctor issued a critical illness notice the next day. We decided to take her home.
I told her loudly in her ears to recite the two auspicious Dafa phrases “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good.” I also told my sisters-in-law to recite it too. I begged Master to save my mother-in-law. Meanwhile, the family was still making preparations for the funeral.
My husband took her blood pressure and pulse every couple of hours throughout the night. To our surprise, her blood pressure and heart rate gradually increased, and it was close to normal levels by dawn. After staying at home for a day, we knew that she was out of danger, although she was very weak. We took her to the hospital a few days later for a checkup.
The doctor who said that my mother-in-law had zero chance of surviving was very surprised, and joked with my mother-in-law, “I guess the King of Hell doesn’t want to take you.”
Of course, we knew it was because she accepted Dafa and supported me in the practice, so Master saved her. Since then, my mother-in-law recites “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” several times a day.
Relatives and Friends Believe Dafa is Good
Two years ago, my mother-in-law was unwell in the autumn, just in time for the apple harvest. My husband took her to the hospital, and the doctor suggested that she stay there for a few days. Considering that the family was busy with the harvest, and I was not too busy at work, I told my husband that I could take a few days off to look after her.
I took care of her in the hospital for 10 days until she was discharged. Every time she was hospitalized, my husband and I took care of her.
My sister-in-law went out of town to take care of her son’s child 10 years ago, her husband managed the fruit trees in my parents-in-law’s hometown. He promised to give his mother (my mother-in-law) 3,000 yuan a year, but only gave it to her for two years and then stopped. Three years ago, he went to his son’s home, so the responsibility of taking care of my mother-in-law fell on us, but we never complained.
My mother-in-law can take care of herself and is reluctant to live in her children’s homes, however, she likes to stay with us, and we would take her to our house several times a year for ten to 20 days at a time.
In the autumn a few years ago, I asked my sister to drive me to my mother-in-law’s home. I bought fish, meat and other things for her. She was very moved and told everyone about it. My husband happily said to me, “You’re famous. People in the village said that my mother is blessed, and they envy her for having such a good daughter-in-law.” My mother-in-law praised me in front of the villagers for the things I regarded as normal. It’s no wonder that when I went back to see her, the neighbors would talk to me enthusiastically, and praise me for my filial piety.
During the Chinese New Year holiday last year, the village was closed due to the pandemic. People were not allowed to enter or leave the village. We hurriedly brought my mother-in-law to my house before it was closed. I told her about the global pandemic, and she believed that the plague was to weed out people, and she believed in Dafa even more.
When I did the exercises, she would silently recite “Falun Dafa is good, Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is good” while sitting with her legs crossed. Once, when I studied the Fa, she was anxious for not being able to read, saying to herself, “In the next life, I will attend school, so I will be able to read and write. It’s so frustrating!.”
My mother-in-law stayed at our house until the lockdown was lifted. She was very moved and said to me, “You are the only one who thinks of me.” I reminded her to recite the auspicious phrases. She said, “Don’t worry, I won’t slack off after I get home.” I smiled, and was happy that she held righteous thoughts about Dafa.
Every time she lived with us, I took care of her every need. My second sister-in-law told me that her son had a bad temper and often quarreled with his wife. Once the wife said to her son, “Learn to practice Falun Dafa with your aunt!” My relatives all know that Dafa is good. I am very happy for them.
By the end of last year, my mother-in-law told me that she was sorry for how she treated me in the past, and thanked me for taking good care of her. I responded, “It’s only right and proper to support the elderly. Besides, you’ve benefited from Dafa. If you want to thank anyone, you should thank our Master.”
Thank you, Master! Thank you, Dafa!
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Category: Improving Oneself
