by DawnLS620 21 Replies latest jw friends
My daughter wanted a personalized plate on her car. . .so I was on the site. . .playing around with entering different things that she had thought of. . . and I happened to put in the following and wondered if anyone out there has a plate on their car like one of these. . . .
EX JDUB
EX JW
JWNOMO
XDUB
Actually . . .they were all available here in Michigan. . . .
Actually, thisis the only place I will admit to ever being involved in that cult!! I sure don't want to claim it for all to see.
nj
Dear Dawn:
I would have to agree with ex-nj-jw. Outside of
this arena I have to be honest, I would NEVER tell
anyone that I was a Jehovah's Witness.
I do not want that label and I certainly do not
want any reminders of that past life.
Of course, there is always the embarrassment
factor that comes into play as well.
Think about 14 years of playing the Watchtower's
fool.
Thank you, but no thank you.
Respectfully,
The Wanderer
LOL I am also of the mind that I wouldn't want to advertise anymore for the WTS but this one license plate is my personal favorite:
XJW B12
Here, the guys made a few of them for you from my prison cell
I like them JH. . .and I love the little critter you have as your pic!! Thanks for making me laugh!!
Actually, I don't mind saying I was a JW, personally. I didn't have a choice in the matter - my parents joined when I was 2, so that was that. Whenever the subject has come up, at work for example, people are usually just curious and ask alot of questions. It has brought up some good questions, that made all of us think about things and get into good discussions - and I've told some funny stories where I've had them peeing their pants laughing. Many have been SHOCKED when I've said I was a JW - they just look at me with their mouths hanging open because I tend to be the girl who's cracking the dirty jokes, and fitting in perfectly in the raunchiest of humor. They can't imagine me as a JW - so they ask questions and get answers. It's all part of being comfortable with who you are, where you've been. Experiences we've all had in life made us grow. . .learn. . .question. . . give us pain sometimes. . .and help us learn how to heal without hating the world for what we've been thru. It's life. . .I don't think anyone goes thru it without having some "bad" of some kind - ours was being in that organizaiton - but the real healing comes when you look outside of it. . .and try to find the path you DO want to be on.
A while back at work, one of the guys had had an affair on his wife of one year. Of course he was disfellowshipped and distraught. No one knew he was a JW - he hadn't told anyone and his conduct was not that of a JW at all. When he finally confessed to me (I was his manager and he came into my office and closed the door and wanted to talk about what was going on in his life. He told me of the affair and said that he was in a strict religion and had been kicked out. He said, "I'm a Jehovah's witness". First thing I said, after thinking for a moment was "No you're not"!!! That's how un-JW-like he was. Truly I would have never known. To make a long story short. . .I was able to help him once I found this out. . .I became his confidant because he knew that I had lived it - that I knew EXACTLY where he was coming from. If I had kept it hidden that I had been a JW - I would never have been able to help him. When others found out about it - they said to him first thing - "go talk to Dawn. . .she'll help you - she's been there". I feel good that I was able to help him thru what was a very traumatic time for him.
Just something to think about. . .you never know who you may be working with, living next door to. ..etc., who may be suffering the things that we've already suffered. Don't be ashamed of what you've been or where you've been in life - it just may help someone along the way in the future.
Just my two cents. . .
Dawn
One more thought. . and I hope no one minds a new person on her speaking out. . .if you do. . .just say so and I'll "silence" myself for a while.
My thought is. . . .
If you can try to find something positive about your time in JW-dom, perhaps it will help. For instance, all the TMS talks I had to do, the going out door-to-door, the assembly parts on the stage, helped me become a sales person - and a very good one. I wasn't afraid to go up to people I didn't know and talk and try to sell them a car. I had done it all my life and it was far less scary than trying to talk religion with someone. I could talk to strangers really easily - and people wondered why I found it so easy - that way why. Another example. . .if you suffered abuse at their hands. . .perhaps in time. . .you can help someone else thru the trauma of abuse. If you missed out on college or following your dreams. . .maybe you can help your own children one day go to college and follow their dreams. If you were shunned/disfellowshipped or mistreated in that way, perhaps you can. . .in time. . .learn to be more compassionate with others. I'm not trying to sound like Pollyanna - but trying to find a silver lining in the black cloud we all knew as our lives - can sometimes be very productive and help us grow and heal.
Dawn
Sorry, didn't work!
