My Children have decided to fly me back to Oregon to spend Christmas with them. This will be the first time I have seen my family since February 2001 and since my heart attack ... so this is a special time for them and me - and I get to see all my grandchildren.
I promised to make three Finale posts ... I have written two of them but I am holding off until I can think them through more and be sure of what I want to say ... so I may post them soon or when I get back on the 27th.
In the meantime, I hope everyone has a great holiday and Merry Christmas ... I always liked Christmas as a Catholic and did not feel angst about it as a JW ... I never liked all the negativity about it that the Watchtower assigns ... I don't even mind the commercialism ... as a secular holiday it's fun ... as a family time it's meaningful ... as a religious event it's spiritual ... whatever we make of the custom its among the least of our worries compared to other major issues ... and it can be great if we choose to make it that way.
Happy New year for 2003 is just around the corner ... think of it ... 2003 is nearly three decades past the time when the Watchtower Society believed that Armageddon was due to end the world as we know it ... far more than a mere generation ... clearly any claim that they may have had to know the mind of God is proven more than false ... it is almost as if God has made sure that the JW beliefs are proven to be not from him. If one is a Christian, then the term "Praise God" takes on a special meaning in light of how the Watctower is proven false. If not a Christian or if not even religious ... the length of time since 1975 has more than made the point that the human race is not subject to the whims and prophetic nonsense of weird little religions that come and go with the wind through history.
Whatever your views and beliefs, we all share a common bond of having survived the Watchtower, been fortunate enough to see thorugh it regardless of the vehicle that awakened our minds and hearts ... and we all share something together that gives us an insight that we can use to the benefit of our fellow humans, to the betterment of our planet ... to leave this world a little nicer and better than we found it ... may that be the case with each of us ...
I appreciate you all and look forward to sharing with you some more posts ... and being part of this unique experience with you ... thanks for being there ... I am your Friend even if at times I don't make sense or that some of us get into fights ... what really counts is our freedom and our unique experience as ex-JWs and our individual place in this world ... again, may you all have a great Christmas. - Jim Whitney
Edited by - Amazing on 19 December 2002 2:3:4