Welcome! No longer a lurker! YOur story sounds a bit similar to mine. Sorry your friends cut you off. Hopefully soon you'll find unconditional friends in the real world.
Love the screen name too.
by And He Ran 43 Replies latest jw experiences
Welcome! No longer a lurker! YOur story sounds a bit similar to mine. Sorry your friends cut you off. Hopefully soon you'll find unconditional friends in the real world.
Love the screen name too.
And He Ran:
So glad you finally started to post. Thank you for sharing part of your story with us. You are very blessed that you married "out of the truth"
So many have the burden of their mate's being in the organization still. You will find a lot of friends here who will love and accept you
unconditionally. A lot will become like family too. So glad your family has accepted you as you are. So many do not.
Love having you here.
Love and hugs,
Gramma Velta
Hello again, good morning.
Thank you all for your posts and for your welcomes. I think what I gained most from reading this site over the years was the feeling that I was not alone in the way I thought and felt. I could relate so much to what people wrote, to other ex JW's stories, to other faders' stories, regardless of whether they lived in the UK, USA, Australia or wherever. Knowing that what I was feeling was quite common with people leaving a high-control religion like the JWs made me more sure about doing it, though naturally I do regret hurting my parents by leaving. But eventually I had to decide what was right for me and I just didn't believe so many of the JW doctrines. They are actually looking forward to the end of the world being imminent. My wife (not raised as a JW) just thinks it is some kind of parallel universe, life as a JW. Maybe it is...
Anyway, thanks again all.
Hi Andy,
It is nice to hear from you after all this time.
You seem to be well on your way into a 'normal' life, something that most of us 'born ins' have difficulty with.
FlyingHiNow said, "I just had an epiphany, we aren't goats, we are black sheep."
After expressing my reasons for no longer believing the WT to my father, it became obvious who the 'goat' was in our family, and it wasn't me.
I don't suggest you try this.
My guilt is completely gone now. I consider that it is time that THEY justified the way they brought ME up with a head full of stuff that they don't even believe themselves any more.
Welcome to to the forum.
Chris
AHR,
Welcome to JWD!
JK
welcome.
i too faded and had the mass unfriending exodus happen. i was one of those guys that had 100's of friends and was very social. to lose all of that really messed with my head, which is part of the reason to be away from that conditional friendship based on wrong beliefs.
it was another wake up call of how wrong the org is, and very lonely as well.
i'm still trying to deal with it since the social coddling when one is a 'good' jw is intoxicating in itself.
but, those relationships are so toxic, loneliness is better than dishonest friendships.
i can see why people choose to stay in abusive relationships, b/c it's all they know and out there, independent and free, is a lonely place for a while.
know that you have someone on the other side of the world who feels your pain and understands.
congrads on your marriage and successful fade out.
Welcome to the board
Loved your wife's comment about JW's in some 'kind of parallel universe' she is right it is so at odds with reality JW praying for the deaths of 6 billion people!
Hiya And He Ran. Good job with managing your life in the way you saw best. I'm hoping for a similar outcome.
I concentrated my research on the bible, supposedly the basis for JW teachings. This completely blew the belief system away so I don't feel guilty in myself at all now. (I hope I'll feel the same when I'm with family.) The book I started with was How to Read the Bible: History, Prophecy, Literature--Why Modern Readers Need to Know the Difference, and What It Means for Faith Today.
Welcome. Not familiar with all the regions of your country - but there are many posters here from your country. Perhaps you can hook up with a few of them. Yes - loosing all one's friends is not easy. You might try what I did - become a loner. Just kidding.
Jeff
Welcome! Welcome!
Woody