SweetCaramel1 said:
do you ever get tired of being the nice guy (christian)? i'm tired of pretending to like family (outside of my household) that i don't and putting up with all their crap. there are things that are expected of me from family but when it comes time for the family to show gratitude in return it never comes over. i get tired of feeling like i'm being played like a fool.
i try not to have hate, disgust and resentment in my heart but the same issue(s) resurface. i can't get rid of them because they are family. does anyone have any suggestions on how to love family better? i usually use the "do unto others" approach. it works most of the time but i usually feel guilty about it
Girl, I totally understand where you are coming from. My family is going through that with my grandfather (my mom's father) right now. He's not a believer, even though the rest of the family is, and he is putting us throuuuuuuuuuuugh it! I mean THROUGH IT!
He should be in an assisted living facility, but he refuses to go. He's sick and needs better care than what anyone in my family can provide, but he is torturing his children (all adults). He set up his life so that he would have to move in with one of his children, and he actually thought all of his daughters (he has 3 daughters and 2 sons) were going to leave their husbands and families and move in with him and take care of him! WTH???
He is driving my aunt and her husband to the nutty farm. Every minute he's complaining about something. He keeps them up all night. Every time anyone visits, he complains that they aren't doing enough and makes every moment with him an absolute misery. It saddens me, b/c I've heard some of the kids say, they don't think they'll miss him when he goes (and this is their father). And trust me, I'm paraphrasing how bad he is. He is sooooooooooooo mean and spiteful. He is verbally abusive, unappreciative and just plain evil. This is not at all the way I expected my grandfather to end his life. He's not at peace with his life or the possibility of his death (he's 83 and has cancer). So he chooses to make everyone else feel as bad as he is feeling. He starts drama between the siblings and eggs on the fighting, etc. It's really a shame, because all he's shown me is exactly what I never want to be like as an old person. It breaks my heart!
So, yeah, all I can say is stay with the Lord. Cast your cares on Him, b/c He can take it. And ask Him to give you the strength to deal with people in a Godly manner, whether they are a believer or not!
