(Minghui.org) My second eldest sister never liked me. She seemed incapable of speaking to me calmly and always wore an angry expression. Even after we grew up and started our own families, we remained distant.
Visited her seven years ago. We chatted about mobile phones and she mentioned that she didn’t have room to save my number in her contacts—she only had space for my eldest sister, my third eldest sister, her husband, and her two children. She told me, “I’ve adopted out my second child to your third sister.” Since my third sister already had a daughter, I understood exactly what that meant, and the resentment in my heart began to fester.
Three years ago my husband celebrated his 60th birthday. I didn’t want to tell my second sister about the party, but my son insisted, saying, “If relatives don’t visit each other, the bond fades.” So, I reluctantly told her. On the day of the party however, she and her husband went straight to my third sister’s home (my third sister and I live in the same village). She stopped by my home briefly to say hello, but her husband didn’t even come inside. He went directly from my third sister’s home to the restaurant where the birthday banquet was being held.
Last year, on my third sister’s birthday, my second sister and her husband visited her home. I felt that, as sisters, a simple word would have sufficed, yet that never happened. I was deeply hurt and cut off all contact with my second sister for a year.
Then, last June, as the grapes in my greenhouse were nearly sold out, my third sister, a Falun Dafa practitioner, suggested I give some to my second sister. I refused. She said, “You’ve built another greenhouse. Surely you can spare a little?”
I replied, “It’s not about the quantity. I just feel resentful.” I remained adamant about not giving her the grapes as I wanted nothing to do with my second sister. Seeing my stubbornness, my third sister grew anxious.
On the final day of clearing out the greenhouse, I realized I couldn’t keep this standoff going. As a Falun Dafa practitioner I needed to do the right thing. I gathered a plastic basin of grapes, intending to give them to my second sister. However, not wanting to see her in person, I called my third sister and asked her to deliver them. She agreed. She came to my home, placed the basin of grapes on her e-bike, and set off for my second sister’s home. Although I managed to send the grapes, the resentment I harbored toward my second sister hadn’t been completely eliminated.
Two weeks later, my third sister brought up the subject. She told me that when she gave my grapes to our second sister, the latter had wept and said, “Mom passed away early, and our eldest sister was already married and didn’t look after us. I carried that little one, who was only 18 months old, on my back while holding your hand. You were five and a half, and even though I only attended school for two years I had to do chores and give the best food to you two.” Hearing this, I deeply understood the hardships she endured. From the bottom of my heart, I wanted to tell her, “I was wrong. It was all my fault.”
I vividly remember the scene when my second sister got married. I was nine years old at the time. She was sitting on the back of my brother-in-law’s bicycle, and I waved at her reluctantly, calling out “Sister, sister...” But she glared at me with eyes full of resentment—a look that has remained in my memory, and was impossible to shake off. Because I was so young, I didn’t remember the events of those early days. She suffered so much and endured much back then, but I never understood why she resented me.
But after hearing what my third sister said, I could no longer hold back my tears. I finally grasped the struggles my second sister faced while she was just a teenager—how she had silently and selflessly given of herself, taking on the role of a mother. Weeping, I asked my third sister, “Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” Reflecting on the resentment I harbored toward my second sister, I felt I had been so immature. I decided to go see her and asked my third sister, “When are you free? Come with me to visit her.”
The next day, my third sister decided to accompany me to my second sister’s home. We arrived at the market, and I was preparing to buy some things to take along for the visit. By a stroke of luck my second sister was there. My third sister spotted her first while I was buying eggs and said, “There’s sister up ahead.” I immediately called out, “Sister! We were just planning to visit you.”
She smiled and replied, “You’re welcome to come anytime. There’s no need to buy anything.”
I felt that this was the first time in my life my second sister smiled at me so genuinely and from the heart. I realized that it was because I completely let go of my resentment toward her that she appeared so serene. The thick ice of decades-long resentment between us finally melted! All of this was due to Master’s compassion and the mighty power of Dafa, which enabled me, a Dafa practitioner, to eliminate resentment and let kindness well up from within.
For some reason, my third sister’s husband, who lives in our village, always looked at me with displeasure. He always turned his head away and refused to even make eye contact. I felt hurt and puzzled, wondering how I could have possibly offended him.
Even though he ignored me, I always greeted him. But as his hostility persisted, I became disheartened and I stopped reaching out. Sometimes, when my third sister’s daughter-in-law invited me over for a meal and I ran into him, I politely served him tea. He would merely grunt in acknowledgment, never offering a friendly look, which made me feel truly miserable.
When he was hospitalized due to swelling in his feet, I found myself torn, “It wouldn’t be right not to visit him. But if I do, he won’t give me a pleasant look. He might not even speak to me. I think I’ll just skip the visit.”
Unexpectedly, my second sister, who had let go of past grievances, called me. Not recognizing the number, I asked who it was. She replied, “It’s your second eldest sister. Did you hear our sister’s husband is back from the hospital? Let’s go visit him.”
I sighed and replied, “I really don’t want to go. He doesn’t like seeing me. I think I’ll ask my husband to go instead.” But she insisted, and said that it wouldn’t look good if I didn’t go.” I reiterated, “I really don’t want to go.”
When my husband heard me talking on the phone, he asked who it was and what they wanted. I told him about the call from my second sister and said, “I really don’t want to go. You go instead.”
He replied, “You are a cultivator, after all. This is a test you need to pass.” He was right. I knew Master would guide me to handle this test correctly.
I said, “I know I have to pass this test. It is my test, and I must go through it. Whether I pass smoothly or stumble and fall face-first into the mud, I still have to go through it.” Seeing my firm resolve to pass the test Master brought about a miracle the very next day.
The next morning, after showering and preparing lunch because I didn’t plan to eat at my third sister’s home, my husband returned from the fields. We took some gifts and went to my third sister’s home. My second sister and her husband were already there, so I greeted them. A short while later, my third sister’s husband came out of the inner room riding his mobility tricycle, beaming with smiles. I’d never seen him look so cheerful before.
I happily asked if his feet were better. He smiled and replied, “They’re better, they’re better.” My third sister had the meal ready, and we ate lunch. The house was filled with laughter and joy throughout the visit. We finally witnessed the beautiful sight of the sisters getting along harmoniously.
I later understood why my third sister’s husband disliked me: I had an attachment of sentimentality toward my third sister. Because he treated her poorly for so many years, I had felt resentful and indignant on her behalf, and thought, “She took care of him so attentively for year. Even if she owed him a karmic debt, she would have paid it off long ago.” Yet, how could I possibly comprehend the karmic connection between the two of them? It was I who failed to cultivate according to the Fa. I treated the situation with ordinary human notions.
On the path of cultivation, as long as I harbor the thought of passing a xinxing test, Master will pave the way, enabling me to pass it smoothly.