Ive shared some of mine. It was very therapuetic.
How Many of us Have Shared Our Stories on JWD ? Helps us Know you Better
by flipper 28 Replies latest jw friends
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Eliveleth
Serendipity,
What a great story. You overcame all the negatives and lived your life the way you felt God wanted you to and did it while still a JW. This is unbelievable. I am not sure how you did it by yourself but am glad to hear that you did. It is wonderful that you have broken that bondage of abuse. It just takes one person to do it. I was the one who decided that child molestation was not going any further in our family line and to my knowledge it has not. I praise God for that. I learned a lot from being a JW. I would not change my past life because it made me who I am today.
Love and hugs,
Velta
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Eliveleth
Oh Bluebell,
My heart goes out to you. Your story is so similar to mine except I did not go to the elders. When I was young (in the 40s) the elders (servants) in my congregation were so harsh to children "children should be seen (or maybe not) and not heard". We were constantly being told by them how bad we were and that what we were doing was wrong, that to tell them would have been bringing doom to myself and I knew it. I knew there would be not help coming from them. I did not tell my mother because whe was so kind and loving and I knew that she would have no way of supporting herself if she had to leave him. It was really hard. I did not know at the time but he molested my sister and later on my niece. I am not sure if there were others. He was a servant until he died at the age of 63. I have forgiven him because I know that he probably was abused by his father, and his father by his father, ad infinitum. I have no proof of this, because our family was a "keep it in the closet" type and this sort of thing was known but not talked about, but I believe it is true from events that I knew about.
I nev er doubted that Jehovah loved me, but I did not know why He permitted this to happen. I believe that it did work for my good in many ways. For one thing, I was never promiscuous. I hated what had happened to me and it just turned me off. However, it made it a bit difficult in my marriage, but because my husband was a kind and caring man, I overcame this. I believe God protected me through it all. Romans 8:28 says that "God makes EVERYTHING work together for good for those who love him". I believe this and know that when "bad" things come my way, He will see me through it and make it work for my good".
Love and hugs,
Velta
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flipper
VELTA- Mr. Flipper here. Thanks so much for the encouraging words for these posters . I'm so sorry you went through abuse yourself and I truly hope you have been able to find some measure of peace with your husband and life. He sounds like a loving good manwho has helped you. I'm glad for you.
As you mentioned, back in the time period your abuse happened , child molestation was really in the closet. Unfortunately for many JW victims of abuse it had stayed in the closet until recently in 2002, when the efforts of Silent Lambs, Barbara Anderson and Bill Bowen's efforts helped bring to light many hidden crimes of this sort going on in the org. So now victims of sexual abuse have a place they can go for help. Years of suffering need not continue anymore. Peace to you my friend, Mr. Flipper
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Dagney
if you want to know go to http://www.exjwslosangeles.org
This is the first time I have seen this! Wow.
And in my own backyard, literally. I may need to grow a pair and go.
Thanks for sharing, Mouthy, and I am so happy for your happiness!
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IP_SEC
Matt's Story
by matt foster
I'll make it short and sweet.
Born 5th gen dub in '73. Never was supposed to go to school.
Never was a very good dub, except on the outside. Inside I was interested in sex, rock & roll, and the occult. Didnt doubt it was the truth but... I dunno. I tried really hard to be a good dub. I figured if I was going to be destroyed I might as well help some other poor SOB get life. I was very interested in science and history. QM, GR, and SR made me think twice about god's existence, or at least the JW version of god. Just kept pushing those thoughts down, praying to god to reconcile science and history with himself. He never did.
Appointed MS at 17, eldubber at 27. Rejoined the pio ranks at 28. Immersed myself in JWism. Lost my wife partly over all the time spent serving them instead of being with her. By 31 I was seriously depressed over my doubts. In jan of '05 I found this place. 4 months later I disfellowshiped the WBTS.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/91583/1.ashx
Thats pretty much it. I dont have a single regret.
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jgnat
Not a JW or ex-JW, just associated with the community. Here's my story.
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flipper
MATT- I enjoyed reading your story. I know how you feel about the wasted time giving so much to the org. I was appointed a ms at 20 and served till I was 26. regular pioneered 3 years, but doubts kept creeping up too. Saw a lot of hypocrisy. All the responsibilities the witnesses put on people's shoulders, takes away precious family time and dehumanizes their members into book studying freaks. Glad you found this place here bro. By the way, I too loved sex and rock and roll too much to be a jdub also. I understand. Peace.
JGNAT- Enjoyed reading your story. You did have an interesting childhood. You said it well, we all have had our share of sadness and happiness. I too try to let the happiness dominate my life. Peace.
JOURLES- Wow! Your story sounds strangely familiar to mine in the different meetings you had with elders. I too met enough with them, I began understanding their modus operandi. I respect your decisions you made, and hope you have found peace