I came home to find two sisters standing in my driveway. They looked at the signs on my car (I do house watching for snow birds here in FL) and wanted to know how to get into the business. And after I explained all that I said "Its a really good business if you are PIONEERING." And they both like came out of their skin and looked at each other and one said "and you know this BUZZWORD HOW??" and came over and hugged me and thought I was a sister of course. I said you may not want to hug me when you know who I am and that I am disassociated. And damned if they didnt both say that they didnt care that I was and that they werent "like that" and they stood there and talked to me for a good half an hour. I was astounded...but at the same time I was very proud of them for not bolting and running and judging as they are akin to doing. Both of them were sick of the hypocrisy around them in the org. Both of them had family members who left. They were compassionate, real and not at all condescending to me and they totally understood why I would have left. They of course still were of the opinion that the end is near...and no amount of "even the son doesnt know the date" would sway them from that...and one was like "well you make these sweeping statements about us like we are ALL like those people who stumbled you" and then she said "...and we have the truth and no other churches do and.." So I stopped her cold there..."Who is making the sweeping statements now?" I know what you teach, I know what you know..I know that what you are doing right here right now with me is forbidden and that you go door to door telling people that if you arent a JW you are dead and under satan...so who is making sweeping statements now?" Well she says..."THEY all go to WAR and THEY all THINK they have the truth but they all KILL for their god and".... you know the schtick. She was getting frustrated with me it was obvious but I wasnt going to leave them with the impression that I was a return visit..one even said that she thought they had made some "progress here" and I said um NO. That door has closed, that ship has sailed, that bridge is burned. She also said she wasnt going to count the time they had spent there with me. They were talking in circles and they knew I knew it. "But you are obviously such an INTELLIGENT WOMAN" one said..."Why would you leave Jehovah?" I said "who said I LEFT Jehovah except for a bunch of self important MEN whose opinion means nothing to me?" They said..."Oh we are out here because we LOVE JEHOVAH and we arent out here because of MEN". I was getting dizzy from the circular reasoning they were attempting. But...one was about to either throttle me or burst into tears because she couldnt sway me at all so I called an end to it. But I was really impressed that they took the time. I told them that in the almost ten years since I left not ONE PERSON not ONE ELDER has made an attempt to contact me. To which they said "Would you be open to a meeting?" and I quickly pointed out that that ship TOO had sailed baby.
The one said she understood my frustration and she too had seen the "mess" and tried to live her life around it. I said the mess INSIDE or OUTSIDE the Kingdom Hall walls? And she said..."Definitely INSIDE but I have left Jehovah to handle it...he sees it and he will take care of it." I said sure he will. Im just not willing to sacrifice my 80 years on the planet WAITING for him to "take care of it" and in the meanwhile sit in the quagmire of child molestors, adulterers and liars and hypocrites and that Id take my chances with the world.
Im sure they got back into their car and all hell broke loose. :)
Loves