My dad posts the daily text on facebook everyday. Today's text had to do with disfellowshipping and this is what my mom commented on it:
Mom: I have a daughter also who is baptized but not disfellowshipped but doesn't want to learn about Jehovah I pray that she see's soon before Jehovah closes the door!
so then I respond with:
Me: I learn about Jehovah and Jesus everyday! He is with me and I often read Psalms 27:10 (the scripture that says though my mom and dad forsake me, the Lord receives me) and Romans 8:1 (there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ) and I am confident in my faith as I serve the living God. I love you guys and I appreciate your concern
Then my mom messages me with:
I hope you are not mad at me but I do love you and I do wish you would come back to the Kingdom Hall and not going to a baptist church....this is the truth Lori I know it is and I think you do to but you have to make the move please talk to an elder if you think you will get disfellowshipped they don't do that if you have changed and not doing those things anymore I love you very much and want to go into paradise with you and Larry and Billy and anyone else that is in your family and mine! And it is going to be soon!
So, my response (long) and I avoided talking specifically about the problems of the watchtower and I used Jehovah and mentioned the stake, for her:
I love you too!! I was mad for a moment when you told that lie about me, but you knew not what you were saying, so all is forgiven Jesus was lied about, so to think that I would have an easier life than him is probably not realistic, haha!
I will tell you my story: A co-worker of Larry's came to him asking if he had enough food with how the car business was doing. He said he had retro food stamps and would love to help us out. So, we went and they bought us over $100 worth of groceries - anything we wanted! Then they said we should visit their church. I prayed to Jehovah, saying if this was not his will please make something happen. Well, nothing happened, so we went. I was nervous, of course, as you can imagine. Well, soon I realized that all sounded familiar and were things from the bible I had learned as a child. I relaxed a little bit. They even sang a song that had "Jehovah" in it. So, when asked if we would return, we had to because they bought us a lot of groceries, it was the polite thing to do. As we started going back, we began to learn about the sacrifice that Jesus made and what it meant to us. I began to understand that all the hurt I had caused others, all of the sins that I had committed, were really stomping on Jesus' sacrifice, something that was done for me. Oh, how I cried!! I deserved that death on a stake, not him. But it was finished, what could I do? Well, decided I would live my life with ultimate appreciation for the mercy that Jehovah gave me through Jesus' death. I thanked him for this mercy! I praised him for his loving kindness!! I believed that Jesus was the way to salvation and I knew what that meant! So, I learned the truth. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life! No one can come to the father, except through him. He is the narrow gate. Soon, my lifestyle began to change - naturally. I was sensitive to lyrics on the radio, I started being nice to people. I grew up only thinking of myself and suddenly I cared about the feelings of others. I wanted to show them love and care for the poor, because as Jehovah helps us, so we help others. I saw a change in Larry - he cared about other people too - something he had not really done before. Our marriage improved. So, we keep going to this church. A group of people have been assigned to us that we are able to encourage to grow spiritually, while we grow as well - because we never stop growing. I have seen so much fruit in our lives as well as theirs and it's Jehovah who makes them grow!
The brother at the memorial said something that stood out to me: Jehovah will put you where you can serve best. I agree and right now I am at a place where I can serve best.
Disfellowshipping is not a cause for fear from me. I would hate to lose my family, but like Psalm 27:10 says that even if my parents forsake me, that Jehovah never will and I will put my trust in that. I hope the end does come soon, we are ready for sure! But, Jehovah is so patient with us and I love him for that!
Again, belief that Jesus blood provided the only way to salvation is the truth and I am putting all my eggs in this basket! There is no plan B! Works of salvation will happen naturally as we trust in Jehovah to lead the way in our lives. I have faith and the works have happened naturally. What I do like about this church vs. how I grew up is this. No person is telling me how to serve Jehovah. We read it from the bible - no one is following up with me to make sure I do it. Whatever I do to serve Jehovah is done from a sincere place, it's what I naturally want to do, because he puts that desire in my heart. I don't have to tell my left hand what my right hand is doing. I love Jehovah and Jesus with all my heart and I love others and by serving others, I serve him.
My wish is that we can serve Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, shoulder to shoulder and not judge whether one is better than the other. I love you all and I hope that some of what I said can penetrate your heart and you can see that this is where I should be and where my heart is.
What do you think?