Today’s Miracle Monday is a story about the challenges of family relationships. Thank you to Brother Gerald Benyola for sharing this one.

As a young man, I was blessed to find a wife to share my life with (Rose Pontillo) and also accepted the family that had loved and raised her. There was a time when my in-laws lived with us. We all sat down and agreed, with a clear understanding, as to what I expected of them living in our home. Thank God for my wife’s patience as to not involve me in the daily interaction of their relationship. My father-in-law was a gem.

But one of my challenges was my mother-in-law, Sister Fina Pontillo.

Sister Fina was a very loving and caring person, and all would agree, a dedicated member of the Church. She was in my life for 30 years before she passed away and was sometimes viewed as a strong- willed and controlling mother. She loved her daughter so very much, to a point where she was always interfering in the decisions Rose had to make as a wife and mother.

Individuals from time to time would come up to me and remark, “How are you able to get along with your mother-in-law?” I would respond, “Thank God, He gives me the patience and understanding I need.” In all my years, I never had a confrontation with her. You see, the Lord had rewarded me with a beautiful experience:

One night, many years before she passed away, God gave me a short but vivid dream. In the dream, my mother-in-law appeared before me and got down on her knees. She then raised her hands above her head and asked, ”WHAT MORE CAN I DO FOR YOU?”

From this brief but clear experience, the Lord allowed me to understand how very much she loved me, that no matter what she did or how my patience was tested, her heart — her desires and intentions — were all for the good, were all out of love for me. She was doing her best with what she understood.

I’ve been raised from my youth to follow the teachings of Christ in my life. He taught us, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” And, “Why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?”

I believe the Lord gave me this experience to confirm that when we apply His teachings in our lives, when we choose to look at each other with His love and understanding, then we are blessed to live in peace with one another.

How Has God Helped You to Be a Peacemaker?

Did today’s Miracle Monday spark a memory of how God helped you through a difficult relationship? We’d love to hear about it. Click here to send us your story.

This article has undergone ministry review and approval.