@Your_Brother_in_Christ 6 December 2025

Faith Through Struggle: A Family's Testimony Last night, after attending my daughter’s Christmas concert at school, we returned home to face an extremely hostile situation with my mother-in-law. She felt that we should have gone out of our way to invite her to the concert. To be honest, she has continued to be rude and disrespectful—constantly speaking badly about me and even her own daughter in public. She makes it appear as though we live with her for free and take advantage of her, which is far from the truth. This woman receives $5,700 per year, along with many benefits from us living with her: cheaper insurance, free food, free housekeeping, and the fact that we provide 100% of our own necessities. The only household bill is electricity. The home is paid for, and we use well water. That yearly amount more than covers our share of the expenses. Lately, the closer I have drawn to God, the more openly she has attacked me. For years, she has been a strain on my marriage. My wife, God bless her, used to think I was imagining things. But this time, she heard her mother’s words firsthand, proving I wasn’t delusional. Honestly, I wish I had been—it would have spared our family this pain. Before the concert, I let my daughter use my phone. I explained that I had already invited her grandmother (my mother), but it wasn’t my place to invite someone who constantly speaks badly about us. Ten minutes before the concert, while in the band room, my daughter called her Mammaw. The conversation went something like this: **Daughter:** “Hey Mammaw, are you coming to my concert?” **Mammaw:** “When is it?” **Daughter:** “6:30.” **Mammaw:** “I can’t make it.” **Daughter:** “Mom and Dad are going to be here.” **Mammaw:** “I can’t believe your Mom and Dad didn’t tell me.” **Daughter:** “I wasn’t able to because…” At that point, according to my daughter, her Mammaw began screaming and cursing, nearly bringing her to tears right before the concert. Meanwhile, my wife and I were arriving at the school when she called. My wife thought she was checking where we were, but instead she started screaming, cursing, and accusing me of telling my daughter not to invite her. I corrected her: If my daughter hadn’t told her until then, that was her own choice. If she hadn’t been acting the way she has, we would have had that conversation. We were at the school for our daughter, and we weren’t going to argue. We went inside and tried to enjoy the evening, but my heart was in continuous prayer for her and the situation. I know God will provide, and His greatness will be glorified through this. When we returned home, I felt led by God to go inside, stand my ground, and record everything. The footage is awful—I don’t even want to watch it. She threw things across the house at me, shoved my wife, screamed in my children’s faces, cursed at them, and told them I am not their father and never will be. She even threatened to kill me if I ever touched my daughter. I tried to hold my tongue, but I slipped a few times. Combined with past actions—like shutting off the heat on my kids for a week during 20-degree weather—it was overwhelming. Still, I forgive her and her family. I don’t hate them. I only regret the moments I used inappropriate language, for which I’ve repented to God. I am not perfect, nor a saint. I am trying—working on myself, seeking to connect with God, relying fully on Him, and leading my family down a path of righteousness. When tempted, I remember Christ’s words to the Evil One: *“Get behind me, Satan. For it is written…”* Right now, my family and I are living in our SUV. I’ve applied to every public housing assistance program in our state. Today, I plan to email churches in the area, praying someone can help us. I humbly ask for your prayers. I share this as a living testimony to the greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ, so that my fellow servants of Christ can see the struggle, walk the walk, and witness God’s glory fulfilled in the end.