in 1990 my mother married an american guy from that she had met while working for an aircraft company.
my brother was not allowed to visit me and they even turned him against me.
the relationship that my mother and i have will never be like what we had.
Thanks for sharing you story
Whenever I'm thinking of getting reinstated, when I'm lonely and thinking that the Borg is not so bad....reading other's experiences reminds me that I'm better off on the outside.
Thanks again for sharing, welcome to that forum!
Truth
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what kind of person do you think god is?
do you see god as your friend or are you in constant fear of being destroyed by him?
Good question JH.....
I definately believe that there is a creator who loves us.
I was never close to my Dad, so it's hard for my to think of God/Creator/source as a loving father, but I do try to think of it/him/her that way. I believe that my creator is a loving and just God, who accepts my efforts to serve him and understand what he expects of me though I will fall short of his perfect standards. I try not to beat myself up anymore when I fall short of what I discern is what a loving creator would want me to do or say or think or not do or say or think.
I have come to a place where I trust that my creator is a just and loving being and whatever happens to me when I die will be the right thing and that I will deserve it/etc, whatever that is.
I also thorougly do not buy the lie that the Society is "God's Channel" and that God only works THROUGH THEM.....that was always a tough sell for me because I had seen God move in my life and in others lives in dependantly of the JWs all my life before I met the WTS. I ascertian from my own experience that God is real and does listen to anyone who reaches out for his/her for help and will bless anyone trying to seek him and to help others. Accepting that though, also means that God does use the JWs to help and draw people close to him, and I personally was one of those who really did benefit spiritually from my association with the WTS, BUT, a lot of people don't, and to say that we can only be close to God through any manmade org, to me is rediculous.
I still consider myself a Christion, but not your "average Christian." I pray everyday, I think talking to God is always a good thing, at the least, it cannot hurt any.
I could go on and on about this, as it's so important to me, but that's enough for now.
Truth
i've been visiting this website for months and decided it's time for me to say hello to all of you... so "hi!
i have been away from the wts for a while, but lately have felt a need to get in touch with others who have travelled the same path.
until relatively recently, i thought that all was "well" (relatively speaking) in the organization, but have found it facinating to read the comments of those who are still associated with the wts and how they are dealing with it.
Hi ExpandedMind!
Welcome to the forum!
Much healing and happiness to you.
Truth
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i attended cabool, missouri 1983-1987. methuen-ma 1987-1992. gladstone, missouri 1992-1995
Hi flower,
I just e-mailed you the details, enjoy!
Truth
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i attended cabool, missouri 1983-1987. methuen-ma 1987-1992. gladstone, missouri 1992-1995
hi bittersweet,
I just got home from work and saw your reply to my post, I just e-mailed you the details.
Let me know if you need anything else
Truth
there have been many articles from the wt regarding their position on looking after our aged ones and the abused wives and children.
where are the houses of refuge for these ones plus retirement homes?
most other religions have them.i.e.
opps I meant "caligirl" not "Calibar"....
there have been many articles from the wt regarding their position on looking after our aged ones and the abused wives and children.
where are the houses of refuge for these ones plus retirement homes?
most other religions have them.i.e.
Before I was a Witness, I was a born-again Christian. It's a long story but at one point I was staying with the pastor's family of the church I went to. My home life was a nightmare and after years of abuse I was so depressed that I was suicidal. The pastor made a similar call for anyone who could help from the podium as Calibar mentioned above. After six weeks with no response (we were hoping someone could take me in, I was a good kid that just needed a loving home) he sent me back to live with my mom in her ghetto apartement- a living hell. No wonder I never went back to that church...a few weeks later I was introduced to JW when they showed up one Satuday morning...I accepted a Bible study right at that first meeting. I responded well to all the attention, and I finally got the love I needed.
My point is that organized religion lets lots of folks down who need help, JW not exclusively. Because of the treatment I got from that main-stream non-denominational Christian Church (and there's much more than what I just mentioned here) I thought that the love I was shown by the JWs was a sign from God that they must be the "true Christians" they claim to be.
But, in retro-spect I can see that it's individuals' love and kindness in people, whether they be professing a faith or not, that heals and cares and helps those in need. What is frustrating is when any organization claims to be the end all be all of love etc and to boot, they claim to have God's stamp of approval on their behavior.
I believe that Creator/God/source of energy, whatever you choose to call it/him/her works in everyone that seeks to show love and kindness and a self-sacrificing spirit to help others.
Truth
there have been many articles from the wt regarding their position on looking after our aged ones and the abused wives and children.
where are the houses of refuge for these ones plus retirement homes?
most other religions have them.i.e.
I have personally experienced kind and loving care in the way of gifts of money and of housing when I was going through what I call my "homeless adventure" when I was coming into and then later a part of, the JWs.
So, I don't think it's fair to say most JW congregation are entirely heartless to needy ones, because I know that that's not true from my own personal experience, BUT, I also know that there were ones that needed help and weren't getting it and I can see where certain assumptions were made about different ones in the congregation and those wrong assumptions promoted and permitted needy ones to fall through the cracks in an Org that claims to take such good care of it's own. The problem is that though they SAY that they take care of their own and they TELL the R&F to do so....the reality is the atmosphere in the average KH does not promote charity and kindness as it should.
I think it boils down to spiritual maturity. Those that seek to imitate Jesus are genuienly loving and kind, those that seek to imitate a manmade organization don't mature spiritually, they don't imitate Christ, and their works are out of obligation and not out of geniune love for others.
The folks that extended help to me did so because they were loving, genious, caring people, who happened to be Witnesses. I don't think they helped me because they felt obligated to, I think it was because they genuinely cared.
An interesting point that I remember:
The sister who studied with me (pioneer, elders wife, and one of the most loving people I have ever met in my life) told me that only widows age 65 and older were eligiable for "congregation assistance." At that time, I was really struggling to survive, and she just mentioned that, though I did not ask about it. That implies that widows age sixty-five and over in good standing good collective monatary assistance from the congregation if need be. So, at least at that time (1997) there was a program in place to help some folks, though it was not available for everyone.
Truth
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i attended cabool, missouri 1983-1987. methuen-ma 1987-1992. gladstone, missouri 1992-1995
I go to a support group that meets about every other Saturday. I met two others folks they're and after the meeting I was all excited to meet other ex-JWs so I mentioned this board and how lurking here had helped me so much and it turns out both of them are already on this board!
Though the support group is for anyone from any high-control group and aside from the three of us, the other people are not ex-JWs. (There's about ten people who come or so.) I've found the meetings very useful, although lately they've been very painful to me.(I've been depressed.) We cover how groups manipulate us and how to re-build our lives to feel whole again....as one person so aptly stated "if you don't deal with the pain, then it will deal with you." We also cover how to deal with Post Dramatic Stress Disorder and how the brain deals with what we've all been through, it's very usefull stuff.
The next meeting is Saturday, January 4th at 9am in Lakeville, MA (south of Brockton) if you'd like more info, I can e-mail it to you.
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i attended cabool, missouri 1983-1987. methuen-ma 1987-1992. gladstone, missouri 1992-1995
Hi SheilaM,
I was Df'd from a cong in MA, though I spent most of my time "in the Truth" in New Hampshire. I was only in for few years though, so I probably don't know any of the folks you do.
