So this weekend will be my first time celebrating Friendship day since stop celebrating due to being a JW for years.
The most exciting part for me and makes me very happy is finally to have my son participate and be involved in normal activities at school with classmates. No longer will I allow him to be ostracized at school due to the WT "cult's" ridiculous reasoning why some things are not okay to participate while others are okay. (For example, like all pagan origins we must avoid- birthdays, etc... but then again they all wear wedding rings & neck ties which also have pagan origins).
The 2003 Awake 9/22 says: "A main concern is, not what the practice meant hundreds of years ago, but how it is viewed today in your area. Understandably, opinions may vary from one place to another. Hence, it is wise to avoid turning such matters into big issues. The Bible says: “Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.”—1 Corinthians 10:24."
I can tell how deep down he wanted to participate in the activities at school but had that cognitive dissonance in him, asking me if God would approve and didn't want to make him mad. Of course after many reasoning discussions with him and discuss with him the above Awake Article, he decided to participate and enjoy activities that the rest of his classmates do too. It's a slow process for him but has been very progressive, little by little his indoctrination has been leaving him. To which I was even surprised when I picked him up from school early this week and said he wants to go to the school's Friendship dance (V-Day) and even got a girl a V-Card he likes at school. He says he will not tell his other side of the family which are JWs because according to him "they are asleep and wouldn't understand"...
I am also happy to participate with co-workers at work for the first time. I've been at the same company for over 10 years and finally I also will not ostracized myself, they were soo surprised when I asked if they were doing anything and I wanted to participate. They were all very welcoming and genuine accepting. They have been more supportive friends than the ones I had at the various congregations I have attended. And best yet I will be celebrating it with my "worldly" husband for the 1st time!!!
