by JH 19 Replies latest jw friends
As a JW, we were always told that God was blessing us, because we were doing his will. JW's saw God's hand everywhere in our lives. If we had good news, a good job, good health, it was because God was blessing us.
Now that you don't belong to the JW's anymore, do you feel less blessed?
Quite the opposite, I feel much more blessed, genuinely at peace with my self. I occationaly bump into old 'friends' and family who are still doing it and it's like a slap in the face, they're not happy, like they are in a daze. I understand why, but I don't think they want to see it that way. How about you ?
I used to be amused by that expression. I mean most of them washed toliets for a living. Lived hand to mouth and had cars that ran every so often. Then to top it off they went to a zillion meetings a week only to find out they weren't doing enough.
Glad to leave those blessings behind.
To start answering your question first of all I have to say I don't know who or what God is but I beleive there is a greater power in our lives and it seemed when I stopped going to meetings and then totally drifted away I over-indulged in "worldy" goodness, some FANTASTIC, some not so great ... But then when I settled down and started treating myself and others around me with respect and a greater love, then my life starting forming into great bonds of happiness.
At this moment I'm really happy, (happier than I have ever been) I'm free and open about my sexuality somthing I could never happily do within the Jehovahs Witness Organisation. So I'm a gay guy living with my long term boyfriend of going on 3 years, we are buying a house together as well as the trimmings, (mmm a swimming pool for next summer) I have a new loving accepting family. We celebrate ALL the holidays with all the benifits and I feel that things like Christmas and Birthdays are somthing Wittnesses are missing out on .. they feel almost spiritual to me and my family, they are full of love and are always things to be looked forward to.
As I said before I do beleive in a God and I beleive he influences our lives if we help ourselves. I feel more blessed now than I felt when I was serving the WTS. (in fact mum and myself were not blessed at all at that time, I never saw Jehovahs hand in anything, it seemed no matter how much we needed his help and did his will as instructed by the WTS he never answered our prayers) As JW's we were always taught that the world has nothing to offer and is filled with un-loving selfish spitful people with a desire to hurt us. And I admit there does exist people like that (although people like that are involved in every walk of life) but I can think of no other place that people like that exist in a mass and that would be most religions .. In fact JWs seem nothing but judgmental, selfish, nasty, backstabbing and full of themselves and their concern to justify their love for Jehovah by making others feeling undeserving of love.
My story isn't unusual in respect to the facts that I'm completely happy in my life now that I'm free of the teachings of the WTS, you will find people from all different backgrounds here with simalar stories. So in reflection of your question ... I feel more blessed than I ever have in my life, I feel free to express myself, I feel the need to share my love and kindness to others and I feel that God like never before has given me my very hearts desire as he always promised.
m0nk3y
I feel like i control my life. I attract the good things, or i sabotage them. I percieve the subconscious movements, like fish underwater. Some of them are positive, some negative. I work on changing old destructive patterns, so i can be free to be more.
SS
I never felt 'blessed' in the ORG anyway, I never, ever felt anything 'divine' or whatever you want to call it and believe me I was one of those that people thought was so into it and all that, when I prayed at night I used to fall asleep, pretty funny when you think about it really.
Yes, I remember how some would go on about the blessing of having a greater share in the service, being called upon to participate at an assembly, carrying a microphone. Nevertheless, they all seemed so sad and burdened down that I think the word blessing was terribly abused.
Its a real blessing now to be able to think for myself and do some of the things I've always wanted to do before its too late to enjoy them.
Warrigal
Bewise,
I never felt 'blessed' in the ORG anyway, I never, ever felt anything 'divine' or whatever you want to call it
I'll tell you a secret
Nor did I
So how do you feel with your life now JH ?
m0nk3y
My life?
As far as blessings as said above....no change at all. Never was blessed as a JW.
