I've been reading a lot of stories posted here and have to say I'm glad to know there are so many EX-jw's!
Breifly, Ill let you know my story:
I was raised, well, pretty much nothing. My mother was a drug addict and prostitute and so as a 6 month old baby I was taken away from here by the state and after foster care for awhile, given to my Grandparents. Well, guess where my mother got her drug habbit?
I was told my religion was Methodist but we never went to church, never read the bible or anything. My Aunt had a rough life as well and was called upon by some Jehovah's witnesses-- this was probably about 1993. She was impressed with how much 'love' and support they gave her and was thoroughly convinced she had found the truth. For years she pressured me to go to meetings with her & I declined-- only a teenager at the time. Finally, My sophmore year in High School I gave in and joined with her. I had always believed God existed but hadn't a clue who or what that meant. So, Jehovah's Witnesses sounded pretty good to me-- it never occured to me that a religion could be wrong. I was really young and naive. After awhile I moved in with this aunt when things at my grandparents house got worse. This meant I had to change schools. This meant I had to make new friends. Some of the friends I made were the nicest people I had ever met and were so happy--kind of annoyed me. After awhile it got around that I was a JW but my friends didn't judge me and just asked me to explain it to them. Well, I tried but they kept pointing out scripture that contradicted me. After quite awhile of this I got really depressed. Was I not good enough for God? What was wrong with me? My aunt and the elders couldn't be wrong----could they? My friends eventually explained to me the truth about God and said it was my choice to make and they loved me. So I read and read and read and eventually prayed and beacame a Christian. Obviously that did not go over well with the family and elders. I was told I had to talk to different people and I did but they just could not prove their religion from the Bible to me. I was told by my Aunt that she had been advised by the elders to give me a choice. I either had to 'straighten up' and pretend I was a good little JW until I turned 18 or I needed to move out of their home because I might be a bad influence on my smaller Cousins. I told her that it was immoral and wrong of her to ask me to lie about what I believed and while I would obey rules of the house I would not pretend to be something I am not -- I would not lie about God.
Well, that ended me out on my can that night. I was 15, alone but wierdly happy with my choice. God provided a way for me to stay in school and graduate with honors on time, fall in love and marry my husband--who happened to be one of my first good friends, and have a terrific, happy life which now includes a terrific 1 year old son--Not to get mushy or religious on you- I know how easy it is to not believe in God after things like what we've all gone through. But He's always been there for me & I love him. This is just my story and hope it encourages someone. I like something someone named Tammie wrote on this forum:
The truth cannot be hurt by lies but lies can be hurt by the truth!
Well, so much for briefly! :) <><
P.S. My faith isn't a blind faith anymore. I'm very intellectually minded and logical-- it's not just about feelings for me. If anyone wishes to talk about anything you can e-mail me :)