Hope for families – The story of Ela
From a letter to Media 7:
A woman writes: “Greetings to your staff. I appreciate the work you are doing, and I value your opinion on important matters. I need direction for my life. I’m a young mother of two little girls. We live in a small village. I keep following my studies part-time. We emigrated, but due to the economic crisis, we were obligated to come back home to our country. We live with the family of my husband because we have financial problems that make it impossible to live on our own. From the beginning, our relationship with his family has been very cold. They would often complain about our economic situation.
During the time I have lived with my mothe- in-law, I find it very had to accept how she treats my children and me. I have tried hard not to focus on her personality and harsh attitude toward us. I choose to pray for her spirit, but I know I can’t do it in my strength. Though I came to faith five years ago and I have studied the Word of God, I feel like I struggle to forgive as Jesus taught. I feel guilty for my unforgiveness. I don’t sleep well at night and her attitude and my lack of forgiveness drain my energy during the day.
I have heard Media 7’s programs talking about forgiveness. I know something is not right in my heart, but I can’t find the strength to move on. I pray to God to forgive me because my attitude is not always right. I need your help and prayers and the help you can give me through your materials. Your programs have given me a lot of strength in difficult times and are showing me the true meaning of forgiveness. Please pray for me.”
(In Albania it’s very common to live with the extended families. Often in villages, you find several generations all living under one roof. Due to tradition, a woman will often continue to live with her in-laws after marriage. As a continuous source of conflict for a family, the constant closeness often leads to greater trouble like divorce, suicide or homicide. We receive a great number of messages from women facing problems while living with their extended families.)