(Minghui.org) After finishing lunch at my mother-in-law's house one afternoon in 2024, my husband, his mother, and I began chatting in the living room. While we were talking, my husband fell asleep on the couch. I covered him with a duvet, and my mother-in-law said with a mixture of envy and jealousy, “Look at you two, you’re afraid he’ll feel cold, while he’s afraid you’ll feel cold. You won’t get cold. Neither Geng (her younger son, who lives with her) nor I would cover each other. If either of us feels cold, we just cover ourselves.”
I thought to myself: You’re feeling jealous even when I treat your son nicely. I remembered what my husband told me, “My mom is so jealous of me treating you well.” Every time my husband put food on my plate at the dinner table, my mother-in-law looked at me a little strangely. However, my relationship with my husband wasn’t always this good.
From childhood to adulthood, I grew up surrounded by praise and was unaware of hardship. This continued until my marriage, after which everything changed. My husband, who had been so accommodating during our courtship, often flew into a rage over trivial matters and even swore at me. I had a strong sense of self-respect, but I was also timid and not good at expressing myself.
We lived in residential housing provided by my husband’s employer, and I was afraid that his colleagues would overhear our conflicts and lose respect for us. I responded by giving him the silent treatment and sleeping in another room. The next day, I went to work with red eyes, swollen from crying. After getting off work, while others looked forward to going home, I reluctantly entered a home that caused me so much pain. My parents lived in another city, so I had nowhere else to go.
He once even swore he’d divorce me and kill everyone in our family. The thought of my parents being dragged into this misfortune filled me with resentment and fear. I hated his heartlessness. When we bought a condo, he said his family was too poor to pay for it. So I borrowed half the money from my father, while his family contributed less than a third of the cost. Also, all the money I had saved before our marriage went to him. Shortly after we married, his father fell ill and passed away. My mother-in-law said the contribution they made to the condo was borrowed and that we had to repay the loan ourselves. We were also expected to repay the debts his father owed to other relatives because of his medical expenses. I treated him and his family with sincerity and never complained. When his father became ill, I suggested, “If worst comes to worst, we can sell our condo.”
Although I wasn’t good at arguing, my mind was filled with thoughts of revenge. Because I had a skill that made me somewhat renowned at work, a male colleague had a crush on me, and I started having inappropriate thoughts. Just as I was about to fall, I was fortunate enough to read Zhuan Falun. I took a good look at myself: How had my heart become so dark without me realizing it? What would I do if this thinking continued?
I was focused on my husband’s flaws; why didn’t I see his good points? Although he had a bad temper, he cooked for me every day and always gave me the best food. Even when he had to work on Saturdays, he prepared the meal before leaving for work, while I just lay in bed sleeping. Whenever we fought, he regretted it and tried to reconcile.
Was I blameless? Had I ever appreciated my husband’s hard work? I began learning to cook and tried to hold myself to the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance in my actions. When he noticed the changes in me, he became more peaceful. With that, our family started moving in a positive direction.
When I went to Beijing to validate Dafa, I was illegally detained in a forced labor camp. While my mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and my colleagues tried to convince my husband to divorce me, he refused to listen to them. After I returned from the labor camp, I strictly adhered to Dafa’s principles and took on all the household chores and looked after my husband.
My mother once whispered to me, “Are you two getting along?” When I look back, I see that my family has been peaceful for quite some time, and my husband’s fierce temper is a vague memory. We still have minor conflicts, but they’re rare.
Not long ago, my husband called from work to ask if we had a certain antiviral medication. I said, “There’s only one tablet left. Who needs it?” He said it was for his sister, who had body aches and a fever. He told me to give it to Yu (his sister’s son) at work the next morning. I thought about how the pharmacy was about to close, and that it would deduct the cost of a refill from my medical insurance card. I wanted to save some of the balance on the card for my mother, who lived in the countryside and took medication regularly.My mother-in-law, husband, and daughter also used the card to buy medication. In addition, my husband needed it for his dental work. I said, “Just use your medical insurance card at the pharmacy, and the clerk will tell you what to buy.” My husband angrily retorted, “I’m asking if we have any medicine at home!” I checked the drawer and said, “We really don’t have any; there’s only one tablet left.” I then reluctantly said I would go buy some. My husband replied, “Never mind!” and hung up.
I felt indignant: His sister has a husband, a son, and a medical insurance card, so why did she rely on us for medicine? But I then thought: I’m a practitioner; how could I forget that? Wasn’t I acting out of self-interest, jealousy, and resentment? My husband was very attached to his sister, yet I said those things; hadn’t I hurt him?
I regretted what I said and called him to apologize, but he didn’t answer. I was at a loss for what to do. I knew I should admit my mistake. I thought to myself: “When he gets home from work, I’ll apologize; if he scolds me, I won’t say a word.” Around 9 p.m., he came home, and I immediately admitted my mistake. He grumbled a bit, but upon seeing my remorse, he decided to let it go.
Without realizing it, I’ve been married for 30 years. It was Falun Dafa that washed away the gloom in my heart, gradually straightened my twisted soul, and filled it with love and light. Dafa saved my nearly broken family. Now, both my in-laws’ families and my sister-in-law’s family enjoy the new year calendars that practitioners distribute.
I wrote down my personal experiences to validate that “Falun Dafa is wonderful,” and “Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance is wonderful.” Falun Dafa is truly a righteous, high-level Buddha Law.