In-laws

-
Dear younger Self, 
Everyone in your life is human, including you! No one is perfect, and that includes your in-laws. They love you and they love your growing family. Don't think that they mean to cause you or your family harm when they don't agree with or understand the way you do things or the way you think. They have a different family dynamic than what you know, and that is true for your husband and your parents as well. Understanding takes time, patience, and lots of forgiveness, but the Lord's greatest glory is his children and their joy. We have a responsibility in Helping Heavenly Father achieve His glory. We can love each other and have charity for those with whom we occasionally experience conflict. We can forgive harsh words and refrain from speaking them. You can love your spouse enough to try to see past faults in his family members and look for the good in them.  These are people who will share your family for eternity! With an increase in love and sincere effort, your husband's family can be some of your greatest friends and supports in this life. You are very blessed to have so many people who love you and care for your wellbeing and the wellbeing of your children. Be grateful for them and try to see from a Christ-like angle. That, after all is what we came to earth to do. Even if it's difficult, maybe especially if it's difficult, the plan of salvation is about family; The family of God. If we can show our little families that unconditional love for our extended families, they can follow that example and carry that love into the world in their own ways. This is my testimony, that our love is a bright light that shines in all places where we give it. The darker the places or relationships, the more impactful the light can be to all those involved. I love you! 
Your Future Self

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Healthy Boundaries with Children

-
Image
  I have often found myself drawn to videos on social media of men and women playfully ranting about  some aspect of the difficulties of parenting. Honestly, who doesn’t love a witty, messy bun wearing,  exhausted mom, telling us “How it is”? This fresh and funny perspective  is relatable, and the sentiment  can be quite literally relieving because of  how phenomenally complex and challenging the realities of  raising children are. I mean, if we MUST go  through the daily rigors of parent life, we might as well  find  the humor in it, right? Although we pay homage to this type of parental comic relief with our likes and subscribes, we may be left feeling like the short clips of validation only carry us so far in terms of how we actually handle our own, very private difficult parenting situations. One element of frustration in child rearing that stands out to me is setting and keeping healthy boundaries. Boundaries with children are sup...
Read more

sex in marriage

-
Dear Younger Self,  I've been contemplating the sexual intimacy journey in my marriage and have come to learn that I'm definitely not the only one to struggle with feelings of purity and carnal desires. How do you reconcile it? What separates the two in marriage? Selflessness. When we are in a sexual relationship for the physical only, we are only taking and giving nothing in return.  I read a comment recently that beautifully describes the key, I think, to turning the sexual marriage experience into a sacred and pure one. The author said, "We tend to do for others what would make us happy if someone would do the same for us. And afterward we wonder why the other person isn’t happy. One great key to success in marriage is to find out what would make our spouse happy and then to find joy in providing that happiness."(Barlow, 1986) This is a wonderful description of how we can see the differences in our spouse more positively and having more to do with them, and ...
Read more

Married to My Friend

-
Dear Younger Self,  Your best friend needs you. You look up and sigh a huge, defeated sigh, but your shoulders feel heavier. You are feeling guilty because you let your mind wonder how you can give so much of yourself to this person even if he’s currently in a place where he cannot give back. “He won’t give back, even when he can”, you think to yourself. Guilt. Frustration. Stresssss…. I must stop you here and ask, Who is Dan to you? Is he, as a person, a friend to you? Do his worries cross your mind? Do you know what is currently happening in his day to day that causes him stress? Do you look for something under or around his unkind or snide comments that could be fueling his frustrations? Might they have absolutely nothing to do with you?  Do you think of him throughout the day in positive ways, or are you focusing on the one hurtful exchange from two days ago and replaying it over and over in your mind? You are giving power to your thoughts either way, so make sure t...
Read more