This is the ‘Wasted Life Story’ from the Feb 1 2002 WT.
I would have entitled it ‘ The Uncaring Husband’…….
This guy gets married in 1954. Tragically his wife has to have an operation to remove a brain tumor in 1957. This leaves her in a fairly desperate state.
As a result, my wife was left partially paralysed , and her speech center was badly affected. Now a whole set of complicated challenges arose for both of us. Even the simplest task became a major obstacle for my dear wife. Her deteriorating condition necessitated drastic changes in our everyday routine.Hey but no worries our zealous brother knows how to look after her.
When I went on business trips, I took her along and parked the car near a busy sidewalk. She opened the car window and invited passersby to take copies of The Watchtower and Awake!But our brother copes well….btw substitute ‘my’ for ‘Jehovah’ in the last line.
As for me, this situation provided a longterm education in endurance and perseverance. I experienced Jehovah’s helping hand many times. Brothers and sisters made real sacrifices in order to help us in any way possible, and the doctors kindly supported us. During all those difficult years, we never lacked life’s necessities, although our demanding circumstances made it impossible for me to hold a full-time job. Jehovah’s interests and service were always given top priority.-Matthew 6:33.What was our long-suffering brother doing? Although he could not work full time he could be a congregational servant and work for three years on a building project, despite his wife’s situation!
Back in 1960, I was appointed to serve as a congregation servant in Nikaia, Piraievs…..Then, in 1979, plans were made to build the first Assembly Hall in Greece, on the outskirts of Athens. I was assigned to help organize and carry out this huge construction project…Working for three years with hundreds of self-sacrificing brothers and sisters forged a strong bond of love and unity among us.What about his wife, Eleni? Did she have any choice? Remember that earlier he had said ‘the simplest task became a major obstacle for my dear wife’.
Eleni never complained or became demanding, even when my increased responsibilities in Jehovah’s service occasionally made things inconvenient for her.It gets worse……..
On April 12, 1987, while my wife was preaching in front of our house, a heavy iron door swung shut behind her, hurling her onto the sidewalk, seriously injuring her. As a result, she remained in a coma for the next three years. She died in early 1990.So where was he while his handicapped wife was trying to preach? And whose gate was that? And why was it not safe? ‘Jehovah’s helping hand’ was noticeably absent then.
So the WTS motto is….. if you get married and your wife gets handicapped…don’t worry too much you can still get the brothers to help out…you can still ‘progress’…you might not need a proper job …and she might have a bad accident in the end.
ISP