Skip to main content

The Mother-in-Law.


My heart is filled with pride as I have watched my sons, now grown, stepping into new chapters of their lives and forming the bond of marriage and starting families.

This puts me into a category of women that many times is not highly looked upon.  I am now the Mother-in-Law. The sad reality is that most of our society views the in-laws as annoying and difficult to get along with, like in the TV show “Everybody Loves Raymond.” 

We welcomed these 2 wonderful young women into our family and I feel blessed to call them my daughters.  In-law carries too many negative vibes so I prefer using “daughter”  and “mom”. And I am rebelling from the societal norm.  I am going to work to give the whole in-law relationship a makeover with a positive twist. 
 
Actually, that line of thinking came straight from my mother-in-law who, by the way, is a bright spot in my life rather than the stereotypical difficult-to-get-along-with-mother-in-law.  She told me a long time ago that she preferred to be my second mom and I her second daughter and leave the whole in-law business out of it. Preferring the term “Mother-in-love”, she has been a wonderful example to me of what God had in mind for a mother-in-law to be.  Loving.  Encouraging.  Guiding.  Helpful.  A friend. 
 
Those words remind me of my own mom as well.  She has loved me, faults and all, saw the good in me and encouraged growth, at times and in ways only a mom can.  I have had a great example lived out in front of me, an example of a loving wife, devoted mom, and a good mother-in-law each day of my life. 
 

Many women feel stress from their husband’s mother, but in God’s plan, this is not how it should be. We can be a blessing in their lives. God has given me two amazing moms that I can learn from and have been so blessed by them. 
 
I plan on continuing the tradition.  I pray I will be a bright spot in Renae’s and Kara’s lives. I want to pass on the encouragement and love I have received and bless their lives.  It won’t be a difficult task, they have chosen the path of love as well. 

My daughter is also now a daughter-in-law. She has been welcomed into a new family and gained a second mom instead of the typical mother-in-law. God has blessed her with a truly loving and godly second mom who will be a source of encouragement and blessing to her. And I know she will be a blessing in return.

How have you worked to be a blessing in your mother-in-law's life? How has your mother-in-law been a blessing in yours? If your relationship with her is less than good, what is one change you can make to take it a step towards positive? How can you be a blessing in her life in 2014?  Let's turn this in-law thing around.






Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A Little Car and Learning to Trust

The telephone woke us. It was 1:15 a.m. Our oldest son was on the other end. “We need you to come pick us up. We hit ice and wrecked your truck. It’s not drivable.” My heart stopped. Relieved he and his wife were ok, I sent up a prayer of thanks. I jumped out of bed and gathered flashlights as my husband donned his coveralls, Carhart, hat and gloves. It was 31 degrees, a warm night for January in South Dakota. I sent up another prayer of thanks. Then I settled into my routine of pacing and praying. It’s what I do when I’m concerned and can’t do anything to help a situation. The phone rang again. It was my daughter-in-law. “I just need someone to talk to while Jeff is outside checking on the truck. I’ve never been in a wreck before. It is good we were on the bridge when we spun, otherwise we would have probably rolled.” I was so glad to hear her voice. So glad she was ok. She told me about what happened, then went on to tell me about her day. It had been her special day. Her Chr

Busy But Bored

Bored. To my mom it is a four-letter word. In our home growing up, a chore was promptly assigned to whoever dared to use the "B" word. "There is never an excuse to be bored. There are so many ways to entertain yourself. If you're bored, you need something to do. Now go clean the toilets." This is just one of the many valuable lessons mom taught me. Thanks, mom. Even though I have been trained to not use such language, the "B" word has come to mind quite often lately.  I'm bored. Bored physically. Bored mentally. Bored spiritually. (I seriously hope my mom isn't reading this or I might be cleaning until Ground Hog Day!) My days are busy, busy, busy, filled with three part time jobs, being a wife, mom and pastor's wife; so having nothing to do is not the problem. Most weeks I need an extra day or two just to make it to the end of my to-do list. Busy but bored. I used to sense God's call on my life; dream of the things He would do thr

Move Your Faith From Private To Public

Have you ever wondered about the Bleeding Woman in Mark chapter 5? While we are on the subject, I seriously think we should consider giving her a name, that’s not something anyone wants to be known as. Maybe we should call her the Woman of Faith... But back to the subject. Or maybe it is part of the subject now that I think about it. I’ll get to that in a bit. Instead of receiving healing and going on her merry way as I often do, she moved to a position of worship in front of Jesus. Her faith compelled her to go to Jesus for healing and her faith also compelled her to worship Him publically. I don’t mind God knowing about all my junk, but I don’t necessarily like anyone else to know. Are you with me? I tend to want to only show the good and keep the bad and ugly hidden away. Keep it just between God and I. To move in front of Jesus and publically worship for healing meant others would know her problems and that she needed healing. She opened herself up to the eye of