By Xiaohui
Next, Xinyue cried out to God in her heart and asked God to teach her how to get along with her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. After praying, she saw a passage of God’s words that says: “If people have no verbal or spiritual communication, then there is no possibility of intimacy between them, and they cannot provide for each other or help one another. You have experienced this before, have you not? If your friend confides everything to you, giving voice to all that he is thinking and whatever suffering or happiness he harbors, then do you not feel particularly intimate with him? The reason he is willing to tell you these things is that you have confided your innermost thoughts to him as well; you are especially close, and it is because of this that you are able to get along and help each other out.” “If you wish for others to trust you, first you must be honest. As an honest person, you must first lay your heart bare so that everyone can look into it, see all that you are thinking, and glimpse your true face; you must not try to disguise or package yourself to look good. Only then will people trust you and consider you honest. This is the most fundamental practice, and the prerequisite, of being an honest person.” Xinyue found the way to practice in God’s words—opening her heart and having heart-to-heart talks during her interactions with the others. In order to get along with her family, she should tell what was in her heart to them, say what she was thinking, either good or bad, to them, and have heart-to-heart talks with them so that they could all open their hearts and there would be no barriers or distance between them. If they all packaged and concealed their feelings rather than laying their hearts bare, they would become more and more distant and even start to hate each other.
Pondering over God’s words and thinking over her behavior, Xinyue saw that it was indeed harmful to live by Satan’s philosophies, which not only didn’t benefit her family but brought her pain. For example, in order to protect her image, she asked her husband to talk to her sisters-in-law for her, knowing that her husband was likely to offend his sisters. In fact, her sisters-in-law knew that she was behind the plot even when her husband pretended that it was all his idea. So she hated her sisters-in-law even more for what they did, and they were disgusted with her for inciting her husband to blame them. If things continued this way, there would be a wall between them, and they would become cautious in their interactions with each other and feel depressed and miserable. Therefore, it was better to be an honest person, and, as God’s words said, to speak her opinions, thoughts, pain and difficulties, and to put conflicts or unpleasant things on the table, so they wouldn’t suspect, fight, or guard against each other and make each other distressed. Thinking of these things, Xinyue became willing to abandon the harmful satanic poisons and philosophies and rules, and to practice according to God’s words.
However, it was easier said than done. It was really a challenge for Xinyue, who always cared too much about face, to reveal to her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law the thoughts in her mind as God’s words demanded. She didn’t have the courage for that. Several times, she was about to speak but said nothing. Hence, she prayed to God in her heart and begged God to help her and guide her so that she could know how to do it.
After praying, she opened the book of God’s words and saw God’s words saying: “The truth that man needs to possess is found in the word of God, and it is a truth that is the most beneficial and helpful to mankind. It is the tonic and sustenance that your body needs, something that helps man restore his normal humanity. It is a truth that man should be equipped with. The more you practice God’s word, the more quickly your life will blossom, and the clearer the truth will become. As you grow in stature, you will see things of the spiritual world more clearly, and the more strength you will have to triumph over Satan.” In God’s words, Xinyue realized again that only God’s words are the truth. If she didn’t practice the truth, she would not gain the truth, live out a normal humanity to truly get along well with her family, or break away from the afflictions of Satan. Living by Satan’s philosophies, she seemed to get on well with her family, yet she was annoyed and distressed inside. It turned out that Satan never brings people the right path, but only the evil path. With this in mind, Xinyue made up her mind to be an honest person and no longer be harmed and deceived by Satan.
The next day, Xinyue prayed to God, hoping that God would help her to practice the truth of being an honest person, never packaging herself, and opening her heart to her family by telling them the real thoughts deep in her mind. After lunch, her mother-in-law and Dai Yuanyuan came into Xinyue’s room. Xinyue realized that this was a chance given by God for her to practice being honest. She got up the nerve to speak all the thoughts deep in her mind, such as what she had done in order to be praised by the family and others, her suffering behind the show of endurance on the outside, how God’s words revealed her corruption and how she reflected on herself, and so on. After that, she felt bright in her heart. She had never felt so light and relieved before. She knew what she did was right and satisfying to God, but she was still worried that Dai Yuanyuan would not be happy to hear that stuff. To her surprise, Dai Yuanyuan began to apologize, “I thought you had a good nature so you wouldn’t mind our inappropriate words and deeds. So we gave free rein to ourselves more and more. Not until you mentioned your feelings did I know that we are all the same. Everyone needs to be understood, forgiven and respected by others. I did do some inappropriate things. For example, I knew that you had taken mom to see the doctor for her illness, but I still blamed you. I really shouldn’t have done that. From now on, just let me know if you see me do something inappropriate and I’ll try to correct it.” Her mother-in-law said, “Xinyue, God’s words helped you to open your heart and speak to us from your heart. Let’s pursue the truth and change our corrupt dispositions together in the future.” Xinyue was delighted to see that she was not disliked but was even being comforted by her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. She felt even closer to her family, and that their hearts and minds were closer too. She kept thanking God in her heart. She had experienced that acting according to God’s words indeed brought herself peace, joy and freedom. It is true that God’s words can change people.
Through this experience, Xinyue tasted the sweetness of practicing God’s words. Since then, she has no longer been willing to live with Satan’s poisons and by its rules. She opened her heart and spoke about her difficulties and wrong ways of thinking. She communicated more with others, and was willing to accept their advice and help on her shortcomings.
One day, after getting home, Xinyue found that the house was in a mess: The stools were lying on their sides, empty packs of snacks were all over the floor, and Mingming had gauged holes in the table with scissors. Xinyue was very angry. She thought: “That boy is too naughty. He must be taught a good lesson. Otherwise, who knows what he’ll grow up to be. Forget it, he’s not my child. Let him do what he wants.” Then Xinyue was about to turn around and walk upstairs. Suddenly, she realized that she was again following Satan’s philosophies of “Let things drift if they do not affect one personally,” and “Though you see wrong, it’s best to say little.” This was not in accordance with God’s will. So Xinyue went to talk with Dai Yuanyuan and suggested that the child be properly disciplined. Dai Yuanyuan sighed, “I know it is no good spoiling the child. I have beaten and scolded him, but he has not changed at all. I simply don’t know how to educate him.” After seeing Dai Yuanyuan’s helplessness, Xinyue read some of God’s words for Dai Yuanyuan and talked about God’s will with her. She said, “We should rely on God when we educate our children. We should not use our own ways but practice as God’s words require us. The child will not be convinced if we teach him relying on satanic corrupt disposition.” Then Xinyue shared with Dai Yuanyuan some experiences of the brothers and sisters she knew. Inspired by Xinyue’s description, Dai Yuanyuan agreed to bring the matter of educating the children before God and practice in accordance with God’s words. Dai Yuanyuan said, “It’s so good to fellowship God’s words together like this. Let’s speak what’s in our hearts in the future, and please fellowship with me like this when I do something wrong.” Hearing this, Xinyue smiled happily.
From then on, when she saw that something Dai Yuanyuan did didn’t conform to the truth, Xinyue would point it out and help her correct it. When Dai Yuanyuan found Xinyue felt bad about something or had something on her mind, she would go and talk with Xinyue and comfort and encourage her. They would seek God’s words together to resolve their corrupt disposition. When Xinyue and all her family focused on practicing in accordance with God’s words, they became more and more harmonious. In addition, the two children were not as naughty as before. Xinyue knew these results were all achieved by God’s words.
Whenever Xinyue talks about these experiences she always gives thanks to God for leading and helping her. It was God’s words that helped her discern the evil and specious satanic rules, and enabled her to cast off the bonds and constraints of Satan. Now she’s no longer worried about how to get on with others in her family of seven. She’s willing to practice according to God’s words for everything.
The end.
Part One:This Is How the Family of Seven Gets Along Peacefully Together (I)
