I saw this coming since my mother-in-law's funeral ...
The congregation's "love-bombing" over my wife had its impact. I watched her drawing closer and closer to her friends in the congregation. Then she decided she would attend the memorial. I went with her. Soon she informed me that she was planning to go back to the meetings, but couldn't find herself doing field service again. Soon she told me she had decided to have a "recovery bible study" with a Bethel heavy sister (a nice couple, btw). Soon, she started to attend all meetings, her attitude towards me began to change too, much more cold and distant, almost as if I was the "enemy". Then she told me she was tired of hearing me talk against the Organization and asked me to not bring that subject up again. Today she told me she will accompany one sister on the ministry again, a bible study. So, she's back into the garbage bin.
I'm gutted. I wouldn't feel any worse if she had spat in my face, after all we both went through. She told me she doesn't care the Organization is right or wrong, she just wants to be back. Naturally, I must respect her decision and her freedom to do what she wants, but I'm devastated. As I said several times in this forum, beware of the emotional pull from the congregation. It's really powerful, and now I can see just how much. Interesting bit, although she says she feels very good to be back, she is clearly depressed.
Part of the problem is that she had an emotional fallout with the Organization because of the child abuse cases, but she never took the time to investigate all other areas where the Organization had failures, wrong predictions, reversed teachings, revisionism, bad conduct from its leaders, the scandals etc. She never strengthened her resolve to investigate if the Bible was really the word of God. So, when the emotional stress intensified, she caved in.
So, here we are again, a religiously divided household. How tragically sad. Sometimes I wish I would die.
Eden