Dear LFTP: how to love Sarah when you can't stand Carl
- How can we support our friend Sarah when we can't stand her husband Carl or understand why she stays?
For Dear LFTP, the hosts read a letter about Sarah, whose husband Carl emotionally abuses her, hasn't worked in ten years, and is hostile to her adult children; the writer has dropped Carl from their circle, feels guilty, and asks how to support Sarah when she can't stand Carl or understand why Sarah stays for financial reasons. The hosts debate whether the friend is a busybody projecting her own judgment, land on the advice to butt out and stop judging, and agree with the secular-world answer they read: Sarah may need counseling and legal advice, but the friend can't run her life. They close with the sign-off and send listeners out with Jess Anderson's single 'Fireflies' from her coming album 'Not What I Thought.'
More on Boundaries
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Dear LFTP: the mother-in-law moved in
- My mother-in-law moved in seven months ago and it’s been difficult — how can we sort this out?
The last letter comes from a wife whose mother-in-law moved in seven months ago with no boundaries, rising bills, unpaid prescriptions, and open disrespect.
From No. 604 · Rearview Mirror
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Dear LFTP: Ralph calls three or four times a week
- How can I get my retired friend Ralph to call less frequently without being rude?
The letter: 'Ralph,' a longtime best friend, retired and is bored, so he calls three or four times a week 'even when there's nothing new to talk about,' rehashing the same things; subtle hints haven't worked; letting it go to voicemail just earns a callback request.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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Dear LFTP: the senior-living handshake letter, and the close
- How can a senior-living resident politely decline the dining-room manager's handshakes?
Mike reads the second Dear LFTP letter: a senior-living resident whose dining-room manager (Manny) shakes hands at residents' tables, and who dodges with wet or greasy hands — how to decline politely?
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Dear LFTP: the fiance who games until 5AM
- What should the letter-writer do about her fiance's all-night gaming habit?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from a woman engaged five years to Dustin, who games from 10PM to 5AM, skips chores, and gives her no attention; talking has not helped since 'he grew up gaming.'
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers