The fact that you were a Witness, did it actually "ruin" your life??
So, Was Your Life RUINED Because You Were A JW?
by minimus 46 Replies latest jw friends
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cantleave
It wasn't ruined, some good things happened. I met wife through the org, I was lucky she wasn't an over zealous crackpot and really is my best freind and soulmate. I was able to build a client base when I started my own business because of the network of contacts I had built up over the years.
Saying that I missed out on a lot experiences and my childhood was dull because of the stupid man made rules. I have spent my life trying to please others so I can fit in. I have lived with guilt for doing things I should never have felt guilty about and I didn't spend long enough in bed on Saturday and Sunday mornings. I am never going to get that time back, but boy I am going to make up for it from now on.
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JeffT
Ruined no, changed yes.
I became a JW of my own volition, and I left of my own volition. As a result of being a JW I made same poor choices. I didn't go to graduate school because of 1975. Who knows, I may have ended up in a job I hated. I also made some good choices - today my wife and I celebrate 35 years of marriage, we met when we were both studying.
I think the key thing for all xjw's is what you do afterwards, not what came before.
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nelly136
it was just a learning curve in the school of pickyourselfupagain
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undercover
Personally, no...
Being raised a JW was unfortunate and probably caused me to not get an education that I could have had but otherwise what is is what is. I think my self-esteem may have been damaged...who knows. You can't change where you were born, your parents, your living conditions, how you were raised.
Being a JW wasn't all that great, but it's nothing compared to those who don't have food and shelter or those born in countries where they have no freedoms or rights.
I didn't suffer all that much as a JW, other than being laughed at in school and missing out on "normal" stuff. As an adult I just seperated myself from situations where conflicts might arise.
There are some whose connection to JWs has caused great hurt and pain and we shouldn't take their suffering too lightly because we personally weren't as adversely affected.
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Saoirse
No. It may have made things a bit more difficult at first but it certainly hasn't ruined it. I'm much happier now. Sometimes, I think it would have been nice to be raised as a non-JW but then I wouldn't have had some of the experiences that helped shape who I am today. I thinking overcoming the JW handicap as made me a far better person.
Now am at the point where I actually feel empowered because I am an ex-JW. It was difficult to leave friends & family and the hatred and abuse that was hurled at me for being an "apostate" wasn't a pleasant thing to deal with. But after surviving that, I feel like I can accomplish anything now.
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Finally-Free
I wouldn't say my life was "ruined", but some of the decisions I made while under the watchtower cult's influence will affect me all my life, and not in a good way.
W
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blondie
I wouldl have to say that if my life were ruined it would have been from having a pedophile father and an alcoholic mother. I can't change the past, but I won't let them ruin my present or my future.
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minimus
Nice balance, here.
I do think, there are a lot of smart JWs and exjws. It's too bad education wasn't highlighted.
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BluesBrother
O K, I was not abused. I did not miss out on an education, I did not give up something that I had a talent for doing.
However, I spent 40 years serving The Watchtower in the belief that I was serving God..During that time, of course you make life choices on the basis that the world is soon to end and your whole focus has to be on the New World. At the time . I cannot say that those years were unhappy, but now I know that everything that I did was a complete waste of time
To know whether your life is yet ruined you have to be looking back at it . Young people still have hope for a fulfilled life because they have time to change it.
All I can say is that I would have done everything differently had I known then what I know now.
God only gives you the proverbial "threescore years and ten" Make sure that you get the best out of it and live for the now, not an empty promise of an eternal future