How many of you still have friends in the org?

by Nellie 30 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Nellie

  A good friend of mine moved away 10 years ago. Needless to say, we lost touch over the years, but our family always spoke of them warmly and with with great affection.

  Last week, their daughter looked my son up on My-Space and we reconnected. They've left the organization, basically got fed up with the hypocrasy of the membership. She said she stopped calling because I didn't return a call she made to me 6 years ago and thought I was making a stand for the org. (Not that we had talked about fading or anything - but you know the witness hotline - she thought I'd heard something.) ... six wasted years ... actually I'd just lost her number and didn't know how to get it. But all is well now

  So I've been thinking a lot about friendship (I'm on that chapter in Search for Christian Freedom) and I've come to the realization that I probably only have two friends in the org left. Two friends who I've shared my true feelings with and they still accept me as me and our relationships hasn't changed one bit. TWO FRIENDS OUT OF A LIFETIME AND 35 YEARS OF ASSOCIATION! How about you - any friends left?
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  candidlynuts

  i was a jw all my life.. till my late 30s .NEVER had a friend.

  its not a friend making environment
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  Finally-Free

  I joined the cult at 25 and I cut off my "worldly" friends when I joined. I had no friends at all for the next 20 years as a JW because I had a "worldly" past, and so was "bad association". None of the JWs wanted anything to do with me. Now that I'm out of the cult I've made plenty of new friends. But I have no interest in renewing any acquaintance with any JWs I knew. Most were assholes anyway.

  W
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  supersonic

  I'm 17 and still in their. Theres many people i can talk to but can't share personal thoughts, never had a true friend yet.
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  Sparkplug

  
  I had two close friends one for my youth and one for my later years in the org. Both have left. One is a little crazy like me and tends to do as I used to, and that is dropping off the face of the earth for five years and when I see her all is the same. I just love her.

  My other friend lives 4 houses down from me. But as I get to know myself, I see that our friendship is still there, but I have changed so much I find myself not wanting to put myself through torture and go do the things she likes. It is not me. I now find I have an opinion. And it feels as if now that I try not to let people give me a hard time or tell me what to do, or correct someone when they say something snipity but try to sneak it into the conversation as if it were not a big deal...well I lost a lot of people. I have slowly removed a lot of negative people from my life and I do get a little down because I never changed in the amount of love, respect and giving I have for people I love,...............I just started expecting the same for myself.
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  Nellie

  Wow! I guess I shouldn't be complaining much then. I just expected so much more from some that I was especially close to. One girl I'd called my BF since we were 17 - now she doesn't call or anything. Another asked and was present at the birth of my child. She's afraid to talk to me. Mind you, I'm not DF'd or DA'd.
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  Warlock

  Nellie:

  That's kind of funny how you brought this up (must be holy spirit). I still have occasional contact thru e-mail to one of my best friends in high school, and that was over 30 years ago.

  I've been waiting for my "friends" from the hall to call me for 5 years. So does that mean I don't have any friends at the hall? I guess.

  Warlock
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  Nellie

  Warlock - LOL This friend of yours from HS - is it a witness?
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  stillajwexelder

  Many many friends I have in the org
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  Warlock

  Nellie,

  No, he is not. We have been meaning to get together, but have not been able to. I'll probably get together with him sooner than any of the "brothers".

  Warlock