Hi everyone! I hope all is well.
My last post over a month ago was going to be the last considering I wanted to get away from all things JW but this place is much harder to ignore than previously thought.
Life has taken some very interesting turns since late last year. Leaving the JW's has been the single best decision the wife and I have made in a long time. We now live a life free of guilt and judgement, accepting people of all faiths and interests into our lives. "Worldly" people are nothing the organization maintains. There are some amazing people out there that are selfless and looking for good people to befriend.
Recently the MIL has been reaching out more to her daughter which is interesting considering they are such hard core JW's. They are finally accepting that their daughter is no longer interested in the Jehovah's Witness bowel movement and have stopped pushing the "come back" agenda. My wife has made it perfectly clear to them that she is happier now than ever and living a life free from stress. (Besides the daily rigors of life of course😉)
Speaking of which, the wife and I have been more involved in the community. We met with a group of church-goers and a church Father to build "blessing bags" for homeless people. This couple wanted to do something positive on the one year anniversary of their daughters loss and decided to make helpful bags for homeless people. They raised over $1,300 dollars to buy the supplies and had so much help putting the bags together that we were done in 15 minutes, making well over 100 bags!!
We also recently helped with a fundraiser for Angel Kisses, a charity that gives money earned to local hospitals and other charities to help with pregnancy and infant loss. Hospitals benefit by having a special room for women who are to deliver a stillborn child, away from the regular birthing area. Nurses are also trained to help such ones, a program we really could have used when delivering our little Rose.
Metro Detroit Share was also one of the grant recipients who benefitted from the fundraiser whom we also actively support. MDS offers grief counseling, support meetings and memory boxes to those who lose babies. Great people all around!!
We had a blast connecting with people there and making new friends and seeing old friends whom we have met at the meetings.
My wife also has used some of her graphics skills to help Compassionate Friends, a worldwide organization that helps families who lose children of all ages. She did a PowerPoint presentation with all the loved ones lost in our local chapter. It was beautiful and well received.
Personally, grief and no longer being on a tight schedule of "learning" as the JW's like to think, I discovered that my job of 22 years was quite boring. If anything good can come out of a former Jehovah's Witness it's that they do instill a desire to learn, even if it's all nonsense. So with that I desired to change my career up a bit. For over 20 years I have been working in the machinist industry as a finish grinder and EDM (Electronic Discharge Machine) operator doing finish work, turning turds into treasures. It was about time to take up making the turds so-to-speak.
I wanted to learn milling and Mastercam and found a job that pays slightly more as was willing to offer such an opportunity. Now I am learning to program and operate two Trak LPM CNC milling machines and also doing some grinding for a screw machine company about a half hours drive north of where I live. It's been nothing short of fantastic. They make screw machine attachment. (Look it up if you're curious. One attachment drills 4 holes at once all while spinning!!! It's mind boggling)
The couple who own the shop have also experienced pregnancy loss and understand our situation and work with us when there are doctor appointments and such. And that's the other thing......
Today we find out if my wife is pregnant with twins!!!!!!!!!!!! An ultrasound a few weeks back saw two eggs with two yokes!!!!!! Excitement isn't word enough to express how we feel.
The televangelist Joel Osteen said in his February 5th, 2017 show that "Yes is coming!" As current and former members of the Jehovah's Witnesses movement, we have experienced a lot of "No's" in our life. Loss of a marriage mate or family member to the cult. Perhaps a financial reversal or an illness. Maybe even the loss of a child or the inability to start a family. Perhaps like in Hannah's case, God (or whatever we happen to believe in) said "No" in the past. This is the year of "Yes!!" But the question is: Will we make our "Yes" work with God's "Yes"? Will we work in harmony with our desires and dreams no matter the odds? Will we win over our mate or loved one, pulling them from the clutches of an evil cult? Will we be ourselves despite what others think?
We CAN because this is the year of "Yes!!" Let us live our life to the fullest as possible! Living a happy and peaceful life is by far the greatest revenge. When we see JW friends from the past, bubble over with happiness. Make them wonder why we can be so happy and free in "Satan's World." Perhaps they will question the organization someday and also experience the peace that comes from living life as it should be lived. May 2017 be the year of "YES" for all of you!
PS. Twin A has a heartbeat of 136 and twin B has a heartbeat of 139!