God Can Do Anything: Millie's Story

Millie’s Story about how God used a loss to help answer a prayer.
A True Answered Prayer story

One of the things I love about Millie is that any time you say something to her such as “See you Sunday,” she’ll reply with, “If the Lord says the same.” She does this because of what James 4:15 says (Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”). 🙂

Read Millie’s answers below to find out how God answered her prayer!

Why did you pray?

There was a time when my mother-in-law and I probably hated each other, literally! Oh, it was really bad. There wasn’t one thing that I could do that was right.

I could do laundry, and my in-laws would check the laundry to see if I had done it right. It was like because I was a 17-year-old, almost 18, I was too stupid to know how to do that stuff. I had learned way early – I baked my first cake when I was 10, you know. It was like that with everything, it was like that all the time.

We moved to California when Harold (Millie’s husband) was stationed there after he went back into the service. My mother-in-law and sister-in-law came to the house, and I had been cooking. I had smothered chicken on the stove.

They came in and went straight to the stove, raised up the lid, and started digging in the pot. And I said, “Could you put the lid back so it can finish cooking?” And they kind of looked at me like, “What is that?” And I said, “Smothered chicken, and I know you know what chicken looks like.”

I had a mouth back then, I still have that. I sometimes used it a lot, which didn’t let things settle down that much.

What was your prayer?

I prayed a great deal that she and I wouldn’t kill each other, really!

Was it like you two just rubbed each other the wrong way or something?

We looked at each other and was rubbed the wrong way! I had known from the beginning that Harold’s parents didn’t want me as a daughter-in-law. I knew that.

When someone doesn’t like you, you can cut the feeling with a knife. And it was hard!

Why weren’t you wanted as a daughter-in-law?

One of the reasons was because I was Catholic. My family were all Catholics, and I was not a strong Catholic at all.

Fortunately, when I was a kid, my Daddy saw to it that I was raised with two churches – the Catholic church he agreed to, but my Momma also took me to a Baptist Mission Sunday school. You learn an awful lot when you go, and it was contrary to what I was learning in the Catholic church.

My in-laws didn’t see here’s the Baptist (Millie motions to one side with her hand), here’s the Catholic (Millie motions to the opposite side with her other hand), and I went to both of them. I was strictly a Catholic to them, and that was something they weren’t happy with.

A little of Millie’s family history

And then, of course, my mother – poor Momma, she wasn’t educated at all. She went to school but maybe to 4th grade. The whole family were really in farming back when she was a kid.

My grandfather was a sheriff in Scott, and he would ride through the little bar that was down in town, and all the fieldworkers would be hanging out. He had a horsewhip, and he’d ride through that bar with the whip and tell those guys to get their backsides home before all their money was gone and they couldn’t feed their families. He was a big stickler for that.

My future in-laws kind of knew about my family. And, as far as my mother-in-law was concerned, that was nothing but trash.

So the relationship started off terrible from the beginning?

Actually, what started it being really bad was a specific incident. You’ve heard of the Texas saying “That’s ready for bullets to fly?” That was ready for bullets to fly…

In this event, I knew I was pushing the envelope to put his parents and sister out of my house.

I tried to keep my mouth shut about the things that my mother-in-law would do because I knew it had to hurt Harold. I actually sat one day and wondered whether she was trying to break up my marriage.

Did you notice any changes during the years you prayed?

I noticed that I didn’t always get real hot and bothered with some of the things my mother-in-law said to Harold. It was almost like, you know, it rolled off my back.

When did things start to be different?

A good number of years went by. My little niece was getting married, and we’d been invited to the wedding. Harold was excited, and I looked at him and I said, “Yeah, yeah, you be excited.”

We got ready, we drove to Florida. We got to my sister-in-law’s house. And my sister-in-law comes up to me with Momma in tow and said, “Here, take her! I cannot handle this anymore. She lost that dog of hers, and now she’s boohoo and everything.”

Obviously your mother-in-law was very upset.

My mother-in-law truly loved poodles, and that’s what she had. The dog was a pretty good age, and she died a couple of days before the wedding.

What did you do?

I told my mother-in-law, I said, “Come on, we’re gonna go fix your makeup.” She cried, “I’ve been making a mess.” I said, “Yeah, you’ve been making a mess, but we’re gonna fix that.”

So we went in the bathroom. I cleaned up her makeup, repaired what I could, and we didn’t talk much at all about what was going on, but she finally blubbered out that she had lost her dog.

And I said, “I know, Momma. Was she sick?” So we had this dog conversation.

The Turning Point

As my mother-in-law talked about that dog and what she’d been through before the dog died, all I can say is that the Lord opened some eyes, and I saw her for the first time as a person who was just whipped down.

She was depressed and sad with the death of that dog, and she needed to be consoled.

The only thing I could do was put my arms around her and say, “Momma, I’m sorry about the dog.” And she pulled back from me and she said, “You understand about the dog?” And I said, “Yes, I do.” And she said, “Oh, I’m so sorry I’m ruining Sherry’s wedding.”

I said, “No, you’re not, Momma. You are gonna go out there, and you are gonna be the great lady you’ve always been. Everything will be fine.”

Believe me, I never thought of my mother-in-law as the great lady, but that’s what God put in my mouth to tell her!

Was that the first time you felt like you could identify with your mother-in-law?

Yeah, God used that as a connection. I really felt sorry for her. She was really heartbroken over the loss of that dog. I loved my little dog, so I could understand.

What happened after that?

She sat up, put a smile on her face, and she went out, and she was the great lady! She had the grandkids, others around laughing and smiling, and she was interacting with all the people, which was something my mother-in-law rarely ever did.

So it was like God gave you the exact words that she needed to hear in that moment?

Oh yeah, and I learned a few things there, too.

What other positive things happened?

After that, when my mother-in-law learned that I could make preserves, I offered to make and bring her peach preserves when the peaches came out.

My father-in-law loved gumbo, and I would make gumbo and bring it to him. I was a good daughter-in-law (Millie laughs and smiles). Daddy (Millie’s father-in-law) changed. His attitude towards me changed, so I knew he accepted me finally.

Closing Reflections from Millie

Now, I will tell you this: After that business with the dog, it wasn’t Kum Ba Yah.

My mother-in-law and I didn’t become best friends, but this thing that had been there was really gone. I didn’t look at her with hatred, I didn’t look at her with, “I’m gonna throw you out of my house.” I didn’t look at her that way anymore.

I wasn’t always excited when they did come to the house, but I wanted my kids to know their grandparents.

The situation with several of my in-laws started bad, but it ended decent. It was the dead dog that did a turnaround on the relationship with my mother-in-law.

And, like I said, my father-in-law’s attitude towards me changed for the better. Also, my sister-in-law and I are very good friends today.

I believe that no matter who you are and how much trouble you’re having with an in-law, that you can work it out.

Conclusion

As we’ve seen from Millie’s story, no situation or relationship is beyond God’s reach. Even though something may seem impossible in our eyes, nothing is ever too difficult for God!

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God.” Mark 10:27

I know that you can do all things; no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. Job 42:2

Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. Jeremiah 32:17

Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:20-21

About Millie

Millie is from New Iberia, Louisiana, and is the mother of three grown children (one son and two daughters). She met her husband, Harold, when she was working at a Montgomery Ward department store. They have been married for over 60 years (very impressive)!

Millie enjoys reading books, baking, sewing, painting, gardening, and playing with Daisy Mae (her black and tan dachshund). She worked for many years as a hair stylist and also ran her own pottery studio.

Several of Millie’s Favorite Bible Verses

I can do all things [which He has called me to do] through Him who strengthens and empowers me [to fulfill His purpose – I am self-sufficient in Christ’s sufficiency; I am ready for anything and equal to anything through Him who infuses me with inner strength and confident peace.]
Philippians 4:13

…but He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough – always available – regardless of the situation]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me.
2 Corinthians 12:9

Let your character [your moral essence, your inner nature] be free from the love of money [shun greed – be financially ethical], being content with what you have; for He has said, “I will never [under any circumstances] desert you [nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless], nor will I forsake or let you down or relax My hold on you [assuredly not]!”
Hebrews 13:5

Verses taken from the Amplified Bible (AMP) Version.