by Strawberryfieldsforever 20 Replies latest jw friends
I was just thinking the other day how small our family is now that we aren't JW's. We are thankful that we at least have our children! My husband lost his Mom and Dad and only sister and her husband and all their children. I lost only my Mom since I am an only child. My heart goes out to everyone here who has lost family. Who have you lost?
Strawberry
"There exist companions disposed to break one another to pieces, but there exists a friend sticking closer than a brother."--Proverbs 18:24.
I lost my best friend. I thought he was the latter (closer than a brother), but he proved to be the former. It hurts everyday.
Two adult children and oldest brother & his wife. Parents died a long time ago (mom 1972, dad 1996) Leslie
My grandparents, aunt and uncle and parents all passed before I left the borg. I was an only child, so while I have lost my family, it wasn't because of shunning. My kids and grandkids are out. My best friend since I was 6 years old is still very much a part of my life. She left the borg before I did. My boyfriend is out. I've known him since I was 16, when we kinda dated... He's been out far longer than I.
I've lost some friends....but I guess they really were'nt friends to begin with. Life is good,
Coffee
StrawberryFieldsForever. (I love your name. Makes me think of a different life, a long time ago).
I lost me.
With the RX, medicinal value I receive from this site, I am recovering, and finding, my old happy, fun loving, bouncy, self. Yay for me!
I was lost. Now I am found. Kind of a catchy tune. Maybe someone will write a song about that, one of these days. lol
So I've got me and my youngest daughter, thinking...thinking...yes! That's about it! lol
Did I say I used to have friends and acquaintances and family all over the world? Umm , I think so. Have I posted and said I am a born in and am 63 years old so I have been an active recruiter and seat warmer, for 6 decades? Did I say I like people?
So I lost me, I found me, and I've got lots of livin ' to do. You know what they say. If you're not busy living...why the heck not?
Just Lois Enjoying Another Beautiful Day in Paradise On Earth Now
My husband's Mom and step-Father are Witnesses ,but don't live close by ,they see us only once a year . They also will accept phone calls from us ,but do not make the effort to call us . When we do speak it is strained and uneasy . We use to be very friendly with each other .
Husband's step Brother and sister in law only live a few blocks away ,they have not spoken to us in at least 5 yrs . My sister in law will look right through me if she runs into me at the grocery store . Two nephews and their wives also will have nothing to do with us anymore .
On my side of the family I have lost contact with one of my older brothers, his wife ,daughter and her husband . Not spoken to any of them for four years .On the plus side I regained a relationship with my oldest brother and his family .( he had been disassociated at 18 and we only completely reconnected seven yrs ago when he was 53 ! )
None of the 'friends' we grew up with ,and raised our children with the past 27 yrs will have anything to do with us . Not one ever called or came by to just ask personally what happened and why did we stop attending meetings . Only one 'new' Witness has ever asked this question, and that was a year after we quit going when he spoke to me during a business situation .
It was tough at first ,but then I began to appreciate how happier I was away from all the Witness gossip and drama .I think it took me a good three years to stop feeling so lost and lonely . I built new circles of friends ones that I chose to be around and not just automatically accepted because we shared the same religion . My friends now are diverse- different ages ,religions ,opinions ,and I love it !
My Brother, his Wife and there two boys
friends or so I thought?
I lost both my Parents .. I thought I might be able to keep my dad, but he became a borg as I was leaving, and ended up being the one to put forth the family decree that I not be spoken too or of any further .
My younger sister, who lives at home with my parents, of course followed suit.
My older brother was a bit more "whatever" about the whole situation, until he went to visit the parents in South Dakota. When he came back, he blocked me on Facebook and discontinued all the projects we had going ( we live near each other and often collaborated on work projects since he does graphic design and I am web developer ) and then threatened to sue me for not paying him for the work he never finished. Hilarity ensued.
Any and all friends that I had made in the course of the 36 years of my life .. gone. Blocked via facebook, long good bye emails sent to me, phone calls telling me what a dispicable person I am, all within days of each other. So I guess the JW rumor mill is alive and kicking.
Best part of it all .. I am not disfellowshipped, have not been in front of a Judical committee, and am just an inactive member of a congregation. All of this came about cause I asked my mother if she thought it might be possible that the GB was intentionally misquoting scientists to further their own creationist agenda. BAM! I was labeled an apostate and within 2 weeks every JW in my life was gone. LOL
Good riddance to them all. My life is much happier out than it ever was in, and I don't need conditional love in my life.
The short answer is: both of my parents and my only sister and some friends.
The true answer is: a bunch of people who never cared about me anyway.
Parents, sister & her hubby and a lot of so-called friends.
