Do You Have "Spiritual" Children?

by compound complex 22 Replies latest jw experiences

  • RAF
    RAF

    Coco thanks for your understanding ... I thought I was off topic

    Eddited to add : Also I wouldn't say smarter (you can be visciously smart) it's more about getting the point (see something) that I could not get (see) on a spiritual level ...

    Last eddited to add : by you I mean anybody kids includes

  • compound complex
    compound complex

    Thank you Stealth,

    I appreciate your comments. They have caused me to see that this broad subject has parameters beyond what I had realized. And here I thought I knew what I was going to hear! Congrats on your successful life.

    CoCo

  • Tyrone van leyen
    Tyrone van leyen

    Coco, yesterday I wrote a whole page reply to this thread and deleted it. In short, I like kids, they can be very funny, but all I ever knew growing up was discipline and no rewards. My upbringing was the antithesis of what a childs heart desires. I can be nice, but I don't have the remotest idea of how to have fun, or be fun and I can get uptight when I feel I am not respected, to put it mildly. Punishments were weird and sometimes cruel. Bonding never happened. The witnesses compounded an already very unpleasant and hard upbringing.

  • compound complex
    compound complex

    Thank you, Tyrone:

    I was never so aware of the widespread cruelty among the JW parenthood as I am now. I certainly made my share of parental gaffes, and however well-meaning I might have been - in the name of Jehovah, the fact remains that we parents have scarred our children. Your joyless childhood is affecting you, and profoundly so, to this day. I imagine all we can do is listen to one another and commiserate, compare notes.

    Perhaps some of us have an innate capacity for joy and some of us don't. That's only an observation. Some of us have been beaten down and "incarcerated" our entire lives, yet when the gaoler opens the door to freedom, we waste no time getting on with life.

    Well, of course, it isn't that simple! As I stated before and elsewhere, it is only now that I feel recovered from a lifetime of trauma, commencing, surely, in childhood. I am determined not to give up, give in or give out [how's that for trite?].

    Thank you once again for your reply, Tyrone. Perhaps our mutual, personal salvation lies in our writing. You certainly have a way with words.

    Your friend,

    CoCo

  • Mrs Smith
    Mrs Smith

    Yes. My nefew (by mariage not by birth) is like another child in my household. He calls me his "back up mom" . His family is a very disfunctional and I hope that I bring a bit of stability and nurturing to his life. I help him with school work and when he spends the weekend with us gets hugs and kisses and chores like my kids do.

  • compound complex
    compound complex

    Thank you, Mrs Smith, for your reply. Your nephew's situation describes mine 50 years ago. A friend of the family was my "mom" in much the same manner. I'm sure there were many of us out there whose family life was quite unlike that of the Cleavers.

    Have a good day,

    CoCo

  • Just as I am
    Just as I am

    I have three daughters of my own (16,14,11), but I also have three "extra" daughters who are always around for one reason or another. One is my niece who lives with us every other week and the other two are friends of the girls. One of them has a less than optimal home life and is with us quite a bit when we go about our activities and classes. She stays with us quite a bit too. Her mother suffers with depression and hardly responds to her. She's the only child at home, so we provide sort of a family life for her. I love all of them and am happy to step in to fill the needs they have.

    I am in the process of taking portraits of all six, making sure they have their hair done just the way they want it and so on so that they feel beautiful and special. I'll proudly display them all in a six panel frame to be hung right over the piano for all to see.

    I've also been scaring my husband lately with talk about adopting a couple more kids . We'll see...

    Thanks, CoCo, for posting this topic. It's near and dear to my heart.

    Just

  • RAF
    RAF

    OY ... I was totally off topic (really didn't understand the question actually) ... so the answer is no I don't have spiritual children

    And it's cool to read that some of you do have spiritual Children BTW

  • compound complex
    compound complex

    Welcome to the forum, Just as I am!

    Thanks for your heart-warming observations; ditto for me - a subject near and dear to my own heart. Making all the children feel important NOW will have a bearing on their poise and confidence as they enter into life. So many of us have baggage from early on. Kind and gentle guidance, provided by loving mentors, is key to a child's turning out to be a reasonably successful and happy adult, IMHO. Thank you, once again!

    RAF:

    You're fine - not off topic at all. You just gave me more to consider! By "smart" kids I meant children who think they know everything. I believe Mark Twain commented on the child who grows up, moves away from home and later returns, only to discover how smart his dad became while he, the son, was gone! I appreciate your input.

    CoCo

  • White Dove
    White Dove

    My daughter and I are spiritual. My son couldn't give a fig about religion or spirituality. He just goes to church for the socialization. My daughter and I only visit churches to see what they are like. We are both pagan but curious about what was kept from us for so long as JW's.

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