Welcome, bgurl,Awakened and Ruth,
bgurl,
My heart feels your pain in the treatment you have received. To be rejected by people whom you have loved, who you thought loved you. It is so hard to find this reality in the organization. I find it hard to believe that when you try so hard, when you need them the most, that you are rejected, but I know that it is true. So many have gone through this and it seems to be predictable about how you will be treated if you are a single mother. I have seen it and heard it so many times.
The God that the Watchtower portrays, I have come to know is not the God that I experience every day. I do see how many who have been treated so badly by the organization that claims they are God's exclusive organization can turn away from God. I understand your feelings about organized religion also. We belonged to 3 different churches after we left the WT and found them to be similarly structured. The churches are all the same. I believe that God wants to be worshipped personally and not through religion. Since I invited Jesus into my life and depend on Him to guide me, my life has been happier and more peaceful. If He is our Father then we do not have to go to a place where there are hundreds of people to find Him. He is as close as a prayer. We do not have to have rituals and formal songs and long prayers to reach Him. We can talk to Him as we would a friend.
I see God as a part of the universe and in everything that He created. I believe that many things in the Bible has been misinterpreted. Some of the things that are in there I do not understand. But I know that God loves us and wants the best for us.
No matter what you believe, I hope that you and your family will remain united in love. Do things that bring you together, whatever that may be. Both you and your husband may have to compromise in this, but it is worth it.
I am praying that you find your way.
Awakened
said: When my elders asked me where will I go (the typical question), I responded that I didn't know, but I was going to find out. "What if you don't find the truth?" they asked, obviously appalled... I simply replied, that I will enjoy the journey.
We were asked that question too by the elders that disfellowshipped us. The question is not WHERE will be go, it is WHO will we go to. The answer is Jesus. John 14:6 I do not think that the "truth" is in any religion, but only in Him.
bgurl said:
I made the decision that organized religion is not for me. Then I started doing more research and now I have questions as to whether or not "God" (as I have come to know him as) really exists and if the bible is even accurate. My instincts are telling very loudly, "NO!" This all happened after I read the book, "The Secret"
My husband and I found out that organized religion was not for us either. The God Jehovah of the Watchtower is not the God that we have found. God is too big to be confined to one religion. He is the creator of the universe and loves all his creatures.
I am so glad you all found this site. You will be challenged. I hope you will keep an open mind and prove all things for yourselves.
Love and hugs,
Velta