The Estrangement Between My Stepmother and Me Vanished in One Day

(Minghui.org) The word “stepmother” often has a negative connotation for many people, but it’s a challenging role. When my own mother spanked me, I did not mind too much; but if my stepmother criticized me even one bit, I developed a grudge against her.

I was in poor health since childhood, and like my mother, I always had to take medicine. Other people got better soon after they took some medicine, but it didn’t work for me; I had to get an IV every time I got sick. I grew up drinking Chinese medicine, and I never knew what happiness meant. I always felt depressed, and then my mother passed away.

My Stepmother

My father re-married a year later. My stepmother was very capable and in exceptionally good health. She looked down on me because I was sickly. My brother and I didn’t like her either, so our house was always at war.

I moved out and lived with my grandmother, and I swore: As long as my stepmother was there, I would never return home. My father tearfully begged me to return, but I was determined.

In 2003, a Falun Dafa practitioner suggested I read Zhuan Falun. I read the book and, without realizing it, I became healthy. The pain in my head and lower back was gone. My heart was full of sunshine. I held the precious book and wept with joy, as if a child who had been wandering for many years finally found a safe and warm place to call home.

At that time I had been away from home for several years, and in my heart I felt home was something both familiar and unfamiliar. After reading Zhuan Falun, I felt I should apologize to my stepmother.

I told her, “Mom, I was in the wrong! I didn’t realize I was wrong until I practiced Falun Dafa and learned the Fa. Please forgive me.” She and I both wept. She said, “Who doesn’t have a fault! It’s okay! Go ahead and practice, what’s wrong with being a good person?”

People say, “Ice three-feet-deep does not thaw in one day.” However, the estrangement between my stepmother and I dissipated in a single day because I practiced Falun Dafa.

When I started to practice Dafa in 2003, the persecution had already begun and practitioners were severely oppressed. My then-husband’s entire family was against it, and my husband was particularly aggressive towards me. He beat me violently and nearly killed me several times.

One day, when my father was calling me, my husband said, “Don’t tell your family that I beat you, or I’ll kill you!” My stepmother overheard him, and immediately said, “Don’t you dare touch her! I’m bringing her home right now!”

My stepmother and my sister-in-law came, reprimanded my husband, and brought me home.

My Stepmother Stands With Me

My father was furious and said he wanted to sever the father-daughter relationship with me and threatened to kill himself in an attempt to make me give up Dafa. My stepmother was also unhappy, but she did not say a word to stop me from practicing.

Six months later my husband sent a message, “As long as she stops practicing Falun Dafa, she can come back, otherwise, I’ll divorce her.” My stepmother immediately fired back, “She will continue practicing. Get the divorce!” Those words were “earth-shattering” to me! I thought about it but I dared not say it. I was grateful to her from the bottom of my heart.

At that time, no one dared to get close to me for fear that they might be implicated because I practiced Falun Dafa, but my stepmother was not afraid.

One rainy morning, a judicial police officer delivered a subpoena to my house, which was a filing for a divorce on the grounds that I practiced Falun Dafa. My father went on another rampage, but my stepmother said, “Let’s all go to court and see what he dares to do!” Hearing her words, I was encouraged and felt confident.

Twelve of us went to court, including some neighbors. On my then-husband’s side, there was only him and his uncle. When he saw us, he stood along the wall. My brother wanted to hit him, but my stepmother and I stopped him. I said, “Falun Dafa practitioners are kind and do not hurt anyone.”

After the divorce was settled, my stepmother arranged a vehicle and led several people to bring back my dowry. My stepmother was very kind and did everything she could just because I said, “I was wrong” from the bottom of my heart that day.

My stepmother eventually passed away. Before she left us, she said, “The children (my brother and I) are all fine, but they don’t get along with him (my father).”

Whenever our relatives and neighbors talked about her shortcomings, I said, “She made a lot of sacrifices for this family. We were poor, and she never enjoyed a single day of happiness. We all have our faults and virtues, so let’s look at her good side.” Everyone said I changed and that I had not learned Falun Dafa for nothing.

I am just one of the hundred million Dafa practitioners. Whoever reads the precious book Zhuan Falun will benefit from it immensely.