by Heartofaboy 26 Replies latest jw friends
My parents are in their 80's.
They have been JW's since the late 1950's.
They both have serious misgivings about the way the organisation is going & they feel lost.
However it has been a damned hard struggle over all those years being JW's & raising a family in the 'truth' & they do not feel they can turn their back on it.
What can I say to help them?
they do not feel they can turn their back on it.
seriously i'm not sure theres anything you can say that can make them feel better about wasting 60ish years of their lives.
Of course they feel lost - that is natural. Their leaders have been misleading them their entire lives.
Be there to love them, encourage them to live what they have left...which is life - they can still make themselves very happy...if they truly desire too.
I have family that have been in for over 60 years, I have given up trying to wake them up, I think they could not handle the emotional roller-coaster that occurs after you leave. For a couple or three of them it would be dangerous, they would die.
I just try to make them aware that they are free to do what they want, to enjoy life.
I also though, will not put up with cult-speak and will loudly point out that theirs is only a belief, and they should respect the beliefs (or in my case non-belief) of others.
Please show your family unconditional love, and help them to be happy.
Wobble
What can I say to help them?
They made a mistake.
We all make mistakes.
Deal with it and make the best of the rest of their lives.
My parents are in the same predicament, but they can't bring themselves to admit it. They earned the consequences.
Cheers
Chris
Thanks for your responses.
Luckily we are a close family & we are able to talk very openly with each other about what we think of the WBTS.
Mum & Dad never talk 'cult speak' they are practical, normal people who hoped for a future for their kids & it's sad to see them get so distressed.
Of course my brothers & sisters are all trying to deal with the consequences of a JW upbringing & have stepped back from their congregational 'privileges'.
Several years ago, on one of the very few conversations I've had with my dad, I asked. "But what if you're wrong."
He got really upset and angry and said, "I can't be wrong. If I was wrong it would mean I wasted 40 yrs of my life. I'm NOT wrong."
I could tell by both the tone and the way his voice was breaking up, that the conversation couldn't go on.
It's now been almost 50 yrs.
lisa
sounds heartbreaking for you, HoaB
i have learned to appreciate an old adage:
on your deathbed, it is better to regret
what you did do, rather than what you didnt....
unfortunately, for the captives to a concept,
that whole system is geared to keep their
lives in check, under-developed and unlived
no clean way out of their conundrum, sadly....
I have seen this question or similar over the years and wonder why can't you use the wt's own quote? Would the wt analogy about a drop of poison in a glass of water be helpful? I can't find it at the moment but it is the one about false religion having some truth blah, blah, and it is like a glass of water with one drop of poison in it, you wouldn't drink it would you? Something like that anyway. Maybe you can google it.
I'll try to find this carla
hoab
