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Is it okay to remove in-laws from our life?
My MIL is very manipulative, passive aggressive, and then hides behind her religion and church. They’ve used my husband so much growing up… at one point he was even paying half the bills as a teenager because his father wanted to spend more time at home working on his business. He’s the youngest of many. Nothing has ever been his…. He’s always been taken advantage of. Since we’ve been together, major boundaries have been set with them in the most respectful way ever. They flew off the handle and my MIL twisted everything that was said and caused a huge fight…. Then took zero accountability for her actions and said she has memory issues and can’t remember. We have kids and MIL hates that they look like me, won’t ever admit it, won’t listen when we ask them to do something or not do something. Anything good about our kids is from her or their family. She is very controlling. One day, told me our youngest was outside by the water and she lost him while inside. I told my husband and we no longer let the kids over after that, they came to our home to watch them instead. They had a fit about it and my husband mentioned the incident and she said she never said it. This is one example of many. It’s been almost 2 months of us not seeing them since a family vacation that was nothing but passive aggressive jabs and nonstop taking the kids from us and then not even speaking to us the entire time. MIL decided to show up at our house unannounced (overstepping boundary again). Her excuse was it’s been too long and she had something for the kids. It turned into a blow up and her playing victim and twisting things again and now my husband is completely checked out with them and no longer wants a single thing to do with them…. What’s funny is they think it’s me being this way and it’s their son. I don’t know how to handle this situation. We’ve prayed for the relationship and continue to, but as believers, do we truly need to KEEP tolerating such a toxic person? Mother or not? How do you handle the rest of the family, do you keep relationships with them even though you know they’ll push for things to be talked out? Everyone knows how toxic MIL is, but no one wants to bring it up. They all just accept it. We are very over it and are just figuring out what to do next. Am I wrong for not letting the kids know their grand parents well? That’s my biggest fear…. But I worry MIL will only cause issues and be controlling with them as she was with her own kids. It’s very difficult because she is so involved in church and talks of God all the time, but truly shows zero humility or accountability whatsoever. I’ve tried to just sit back and tolerate her behavior, but it gets worse. I truly feel no contact is all we can do for our sanity at this point, but I have guilt that I’m not being a “Christian” by doing this.
submitted by /u/turtlediver312
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I understand your struggles and empathize with your situation. Remember, in Matthew 7:16, it is said, “By their fruit you will recognize them.” Just because someone is involved in the church does not mean they always live by the teachings of Christ. It’s important to protect your family from toxicity, even if it comes from family members.
As for your children, remember Proverbs 22:6: “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” It is your responsibility as a parent to guide and protect them. If you believe that contact with their grandmother is harmful, it is within your rights to limit or cease contact.
Regarding the rest of the family, remember Matthew 5:9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Keep open lines of communication if possible, but also ensure your boundaries and feelings are respected.
Lastly, remember that guilt is an earthly feeling, not a divine judgement. God understands your struggles, and He knows your heart. You are not being un-Christian by protecting your family. You are being a good shepherd, just as Jesus is the Good Shepherd to us all.