Dear Mimsters: How My In-Laws Have Been a Thorn in Our Flesh

I seriously need your wise counsel on how to handle this issue as I do not want this matter to escalate beyond this. All I want is peace. I am married to a near perfect and wonderful man but my in-laws are a terrible and troublesome bunch of people, a thorn in our flesh. My husband has played his part to protect me from his family but it seems like this issue is still weighing us down.

My husband happens to be the first son of his father. His parents got separated a while ago and his father is remarried. He now lives with his second wife in the United States of America. My husband’s step mum of his always acts so in secure even though my husband has been extremely wonderful in his dealings with her and her children. Whenever they come visiting, despite his step mom’s bad attitude, my husband has made me understand that love is a great weapon of war and that light will always overshadow darkness, and that’s how we relate with them.

On my part, I have tried to be at my best behaviour but this woman keeps bad mouthing us. Presently, the issue on ground is this: My father-in-law and his wife sent some things down to Nigeria to us. Knowing who the wife is and what she is capable of, immediately, we took stock of everything they sent.  They called and they wanted to confirm the amount of stock we received.

When we told them, she shouted on the phone that something was missing. We were surprised because we are sure that no one has tampered with any of the things they sent, except it was tampered before the parcel was delivered to us. She started using lines that insinuated we are the one that took her stuffs. She was cursing, swearing and saying all sorts. We weren’t happy at all until my husband’s dad waded into the matter and pacified us, telling us that he is sorry.

Later, my step mother-in-law, brought some more clothes for us to help her sell. As always, I took stock of the items and confirmed with her. She started with her accusations again and said her goods were stolen. What was more painful that this time, my father-in-law believed her and joined her to accuse us of stealing their things.

We were shocked beyond belief. I was mad, angry, so hurt that I cried. But what could I do? My husband called and tried to explained to them that we are not those kind of people who take other people’s things but did they care? Sincerely this issue has affected and changed a lot of things. Meanwhile, I have been praying and I don’t honestly want this to escalate. This has seriously affected my husband’s relationship with his father and he is not happy about this. I just want peace. How do I amiably resolve this. Please give me your advice and wise counsel. Thank you.