Dear Coco, lol Right now I'm sitting in bed. Hubby can't seem to wake up for the assembly... Isn't that to bad? lol, guess we are just going to have to be late!!! Its going to be a better day then I thought, lol Bye for now! Cognac
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by compound complex 1320 Replies latest jw friends
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compound complex
I had never heard the title THE FREEDOM TO FOLLOW YOUR CONSCIENCE, much less read it (I might just as well have remained in my former church, given the same type prohibitions against so many things: frivolous novels, apostate literature, decadent films, unchaperoned dating ...). It was written by a dissident member of The International Church Conclave, an elitist religious entity that rules over its members with an iron fist. Needless to say, the mere mention of the book's title among church members was an invitation to censure by their leaders. Possession of the contraband heresy - if discovered and dutifully reported by an International Church Conclave loyalist - would result in an official and summary ouster of the holder from the fellowship and a consequent relinquishing of any eternal reward.
The purpose in my mentioning TFTFYC at this juncture is because, somehow or other, Gary and Melinda (fellow congregants and friends) got hold of a copy. They perused it together, taking turns reading it out loud to each other, stopping now and again, as if to catch their breath. I believe it was during this time Gary drove his fist through a wall. Melinda's response to shattered faith was tears. Buckets of them ...
Once past the anger and tears - and it wasn't anytime soon - they telephoned their long-time friend and confidant, Guy, and told him that he needed to come over so that they could talk.
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compound complex
YOUR DAILY JOURNAL
Dear cognac:
Did you get him up, fed and running?
CoCo
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cognac
"Did you get him up, fed and running?" Yup, eventually. But we were late and screwed off the whole day, lol... So, it wasn't too bad... However, I had to deal with my family... That's another story...
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compound complex
The tiny rough-hewn cabin lay in the lap of one of the most forbidding mountain ranges on the Pacific west coast. These arrogant peaks lashed out with unmitigated hostility toward any living creature who dared enter uninvited into their pristine realm and presence. They produced weather of every imaginable and chaotic description and brought it down with fury upon the heads of any unfortunate enough to wander through, however innocently. Man or beast; no matter.
Why Gary and Melinda chose to build and set up housekeeping in this devil's paradise is anyone's guess. Anyone's guess because they were a quiet, private couple, telling others little about themselves and where they were heading in life. We knew them, of course, at church, but they weren't great mixers. They kept to themselves, and their two children were as unassuming and shy as their parents. Nevertheless, the Adamsons were not uneducated rustics lacking in social skills and concern for their fellowman. They had met in college and both had degrees, she in psychology and he in engineering. They began their family not too terribly late in their married life (they were married midway through college but put off starting a family until after settling into the promising jobs awaiting them after graduation), yet certainly not as early as many other younger couples whom they knew. Born in the "Way of Truth," these impetuous and hot-blooded teenage babies were not allowed to date, first by church edict, and second, by parents in the thrall of the unbending and antiquarian Church Conclave.
Gary and Melinda were fine people who chose this neck of the woods, I can only assume, as an antidote for sorrow over the future they had abandoned and the unsatisfactory substitute placed in its stead.
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compound complex
Becoming well-educated and using their talents on behalf of humanity was important both to Gary and to Melinda long before they had met each other. It was a case of two young, earnest individuals wishing to rise above their respective upbringing in the lower middle class. Neither was ashamed of the heritage given them by their parents. They simply had to work all the harder for what they wanted in life. Likewise had their fathers, when young men, sought out a better way of life and, as a result, diligently though modestly provided for their wives and children. However, the young couple was part of a new generation that aspired to greater things. Certainly it wasn't a question of sheer materialism. Knowledge is power, and, if properly utilized and applied, becomes a beneficent means by which one betters oneself and those in one's sphere of influence. A degree and a career that pays well is not so bad either.
Having experienced the tragedy of mental illness among members of her extended family, Melinda, ever the child bringing home the wounded bird for Mother to bandage, or the lost dog - 'Daddy, can't we please keep him 'cause I know he's a stray and he's really hungry and he's so cute ...' - had a heart of gold, helping not only wounded beasties but also "wounded" souls of her own kind. She possessed an intuitive knowledge of what was troubling others, and acted - or did not act - accordingly. Calming and soothing the brokenhearted friends of childhood (as the need might arise), Melinda seemed a natural for her chosen field. Bright and inquisitive, she was loved by her friends and admired by her professors, who went out of their way to open several doors of opportunity for her.
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Hope4Others
They simply had to work all the harder for what they wanted in life. Likewise had their fathers, when young men, sought out a better way of life and, as a result, diligently though modestly provided for their wives and children.
This makes me think so much of our lives we worked hard for what we have, no help from parents and yet we have probably given our children too much...I hope they
make it when we are gone.
h4o
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compound complex
Dear Hope,
Thank you for drawing out a point that escaped me. Each new set of parents endeavors to provide better for their offspring than they themselves ever received as children. Is it necessary? Does it truly benefit the recipients if the material giving overshadows the giving of oneself?
I believe that I know the answers ...
I'm grateful, Hope, that you made me think.
CoCo
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compound complex
YOUR DAILY JOURNAL
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compound complex
I cannot readily forget the examples given me by my long-departed yet hardly- forgotten parents. Quiet dignity and grace they possessed and bequeathed to me, the heir presumptive to the name Schwartzwald. In all my dealings with and on behalf of my fellow human beings, I, by custom and with an ease unmatched by my peers, displayed the regal dignity of a king. If not at so lofty and hence unattainable a degree as the empire's ruling sovereign, however, I was at the very least an earl for charm and smarm. And you ask about my grace? So much grace inhabited my beguiling frame that I was scarcely equipped to stand erect.
Nevertheless, I managed to gather my wits and limbs about me when accosted by a Pennsylvanian solicitor one especially lackluster day. I had been conducting an in-class experiment regarding human voluntary/involuntary reflexes (a crestfallen slip of a man, a Mr. Knollcrest, was the remunerated volunteer). Upon dismissal of my students, I received Mr. Greenwood into my chambers and asked him to state his business.
After being smacked with the most startling news to hit an ordinarily robust specimen such as myself, I found myself recovered from a heady case of the vapors, whereupon a perceptive and patient Mr. Greenwood gently enjoined me to act swiftly upon this most urgent familial matter ...