Thanx Sass.
I left nearly 40 years of my life in a Watchtower dumpster. I left over conscience, and am treated worse than murderers in their midst. [True BTW, you can murder, get repentant, and go on to be fully acceptable to them].
My crime was just finding out facts and reality.
I don't sit about daily feeling sorry for myself. I had good things that came out of being a Jw also. But the losses are real and deep and painful.
- The Elder that married my wife and I headed up the JC to excommunicate me for 'thinking out loud'.
- The Elder that was among my closest friend, and the best man at my wedding, was on that committee, and shuns me in public.
- My SIL, MIL, other SIL, my cousin, all refuse to speak with me.
- My [former] best friend refuses to speak with me.
- I have been branded by the most dispicable term used by Jw's - apostate.
- When my mother died [before I was DA'd or even said anything about what I was learning], her funeral was boycotted by Jw's.
- The lovelessness of the organization haunts me when I see any in public.
I go thru bouts of dealing with these issues, as do many others. Those on the outside of the club we have left are not able to grasp that 'just moving on' is not that easy. But for heavens sake, those who were attached to this ruthless cult, should have enough compassion to understand.
I hope that all of us can one day be fully healed. But I know that some will not ever fully recover.
Thanx for posting this Sass - it needed to be aired.
Jeff