Hi snakes, one thing I'm grateful for now (which I hated then) was that my husband was very supportive of my life in the org and even studied off and on through these 15 years but was fully determined to finish his career in the Navy which he did, 22 years a couple years ago. When he retired he really through himself into studying but things weren't jiving with him. The last time we went through the Rev book he would come home and say "why does the org apply every single thing in Rev to them? It doesn't sound right." Of course I would blow that off. By this time I was frustrated he wasn't 'coming in' anyways so his opinion didn't really matter to me at the time. Then the brothers that were studying with him were telling him which jobs he couldn't take now because he couldn't be a baptized witness in certain jobs so he took a part time job a pizza hut, this 22 year Navy Vet, (not knocking pizza hut of course) for a year! So as the WT was unraveling for him and he was getting a grip on his own spirituality guess what showed up? The job he wanted! To work for the VA and this job could not be going better for him. So, back then I didn't realize the blessings that were in store for us because he followed his heart all along and not me or the brothers! It just cringes me that your dad was only three years away! The pensions are great especially now in this economy!
awildflower
JoinedPosts by awildflower
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6
Lets welcome "awildflower"
by mouthy ini see she/he just posted on the blood issue 1st post.
welcome on the friends post awildflower.
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39
Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Thanks Scott, you know, one of the blessing of living a military life in this org was moving every two to three years. You don't get attached to people in that amount of time and you loose contact with most of the ones you might chance making a close friend. So as far as loosing friends in this org, I'm not experiencing that. And none of my family are in (even though we were all one time in), so I'm not experiencing that. BUT, what has suprised me is experiencing things like, rejection, de-conditioning and the mind 'stuff' that's happened, socially trying to re-connect, what to do with Holidays, how to pray, who to pray to, what to read, the list can go on and on. I've only been baptized for 15 years, so I feel my exit has been fairly uneventful, but we are not really totally free until we 'de-condition', as my mom likes to say. You can't just 'sit' with this stuff, we really have to clean our minds out. But I am sooooo grateful, I caught this when I did for my kids and my heart breaks for the friends I know and for the stories I read on here about this org taking these families 'hostage'. They are in my prayers for sure.
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Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Jonny, that's why I love this site, to ask questions like that! Great question. We are so used to applying EVERYTHING in the scriptures to the WTS but when they are out of the way it opens up a whole new world! At this point I would say anythings possible!
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Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Thanks Heaven, I really love reading and I love what you said about 'the books choosing us'. That would explain a lot about my life right now! You should see my library now. You know, a good JW always had a full library and you were extra special if you had the 'old' books so of course mine was just something to be gushed over by the friends. Oh and of course if your a good JW and you have perfect JW kids then THEY have the same full libraries to right! You should see my garage now! I have 20 boxes of books from this org!! I'm going to throw them away a little at a time. My son and I agreed we didn't want anyone else reading them. It's weird, at first you just want to quietly leave, and then your conscience actually moves you to want to save others from all of this! I will write more about all this in days to come. I guess I can't post much until after a trial period or something right?
Thanks everyone for the hello's!
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39
Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Thanks all for the welcomes! SFL, my kids have been on this journey with me and we talk about everything! They have been wonderful. When I was first leaving they were my biggest fear of 'screwing them up' type thing, but they are better at this than me! I'm sure it has to do with the amount of conditioning we aquire over the years. They have very little compared to me or older ones in this org. I think a lot of JW kids would LOVE for their parents to leave even if they would never say that out loud! There have been several young ones here who have talked to my kids with thoughts against this org but they can't tell their parents. And I don't look back with to much regret over raising them this way. I figure it is what it is BUT life is soooo much better now for them. I have encouraged them, like myself, to look at the good we might have gained (no matter how little that is) and file it away with us and live in the NOW. Life is worth living right now. They have been true blessings. As a matter of fact, my son started 'researching' long before I did I just didn't know it, but he of course couldn't tell me and you know why.
Thanks friends!............
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39
Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Greetings ninja! And leavingwt!
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39
Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Hi! Those books literally changed my life and opened up a whole new field of reading and study for me and just made all the WT info look like a childs book. Not that they didn't serve a purpose for me at one time, but then we grow up! Hopefully!
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6
Lets welcome "awildflower"
by mouthy ini see she/he just posted on the blood issue 1st post.
welcome on the friends post awildflower.
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awildflower
Thank you! And it's a 'she'.
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39
Introducing myself.........
by awildflower inhi all, i've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in.
it is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through.
some background, i'll keep it short:.
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awildflower
Hi all, I've been reading this site for about a month now and decided it was time to jump in. It is truly a blessing to have people who know exactly what we are going through. Some background, I'll keep it short:
I'm 38, married a Navy man, returned to my childhood religion as a JW, got baptized, lived for the past 14 years as a Navy wife and a JW at the same time (which is a story in itself). I was the ideal JW, volunteered for absolutely everything, did as much as I could as 'the sister with the unbelieving mate'. Raised the best JW kids, you know the story. We settled in our current state, had and incident with my then 17 year old, unbaptized son which showed me a side of the org I never knew existed (which is also another story in itself!) My fade has been happening ever since for about a year now.
When Oprah had her class with Eckhart Tolle that's when things really started opening up for me. I was on the virge of suicide because of my marriage and depression over the things I was seeing in this org. It is such a bigger world than we ever knew. I am totally out of religion but I've never been more spiritual. I read things like the Tao from Wayne Dyer and I'm currently into Gregg Bradens books. I'm not looking for new 'beliefs' just exploring this wonderful world and life for what it is. I definitly believe in God and his son Jesus and everlasting life, no matter what form that will take.
I've read both of Ray's books which just helped me be able to make that firm 'no' against this blood guilty org. Not one brother or sister has tried to contact us since January when I officially stopped going. I guess that's the sadest part. In the 4 years I've lived here I have had or invited every single person to my house for entertainment and no one calls to see where we are. And I don't care. I'm always suprised by how quickly the WTS crumbled for me by simply looking up a couple things! I think this org is in trouble because of the internet.
So my stories a lot like you all here. It's just a repeat. I feel happier than I've ever felt before. The damage is done though and some repairs are taking place in my life. But I really want new friends for me and my children, 18 and 13. I look forward to posting more and starting some threads.
Thanks
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awildflower
This was wonderful, to watch his excitement and his genuine desire to give life-saving blood. You can tell this is coming straight from his heart. A more sincere, real gesture than he probably did his whole life as a JW. Giving blood is one of the first things I thought of doing while 'fading', I haven't done it yet but it's definitely on the top of my list. And I agree, we should all give blood to help save lives......