yesterday i was looking to share a pic with a friend of mine, and i swore it was in my photo albums (i have 3).
so i start going through them, and i see so many jw pics!
i had a huge group of friends when i was 'in', and so there is just pic after pic of assemblies, dinners, game nights, rbc projects, my family and the house i grew up in, people from the hall, etc.
Thanks everyone that commented. I really appreciate you even reading this...
I am such a proud woman and I HATE feeling down or vulnerable, but that day I did. I have worked so hard to build a good life...and have been even more successful and healthy since leaving the org. But for some reason I had a moment of weakness when looking through those pics...and there were SO many! Smh. I guess it ok to mourn who I was every once in awhile.
yesterday i was looking to share a pic with a friend of mine, and i swore it was in my photo albums (i have 3).
so i start going through them, and i see so many jw pics!
i had a huge group of friends when i was 'in', and so there is just pic after pic of assemblies, dinners, game nights, rbc projects, my family and the house i grew up in, people from the hall, etc.
Yesterday I was looking to share a pic with a friend of mine, and I swore it was in my photo albums (I have 3). So I start going through them, and I see SO MANY JW PICS! I had a huge group of friends when I was 'in', and so there is just pic after pic of assemblies, dinners, game nights, RBC projects, my family and the house I grew up in, people from the hall, etc.
And I started crying...
Not because I miss anything JW (not even the unconditional so-called 'friends') - I dont. BUT to literally see albums of another LIFE. My past LIFE. MY LIFE. Dont get me wrong I have a happy and fulfilled life now, a lot of friends and a loving husband. It is just a moment I had where I could look back and it is so sad to see ME living a completely different alternate (so to speak) life. A life that i clearly have pictures of, but accordingly to JWs...i do t exist. It was just a quick moment, and then I went back to normal. 😊
i live in the des moines iowa area , i would be interested in doing a kingdom hall crash after watching some on youtube, i would love to do that with a group of people.
i haven't meet any other ex jw around here.
i was never baptized, i always knew i could never live up to jehovah's standard so i never did even consider baptizing.
So JW's always described apostates/ex-JW as 'mentally deranged" or whatever...and that they were the ones doing crazy things (picketing outside district assemblies, jumping up and shouting at meetings, etc). And most of us have seen that at least once in our lives, right?
Even today...if I were st work and someone jumped up and started yelling, or came in the building and made a scene - I'd label them crazy! Understand that doing the same thing in a Khall will not put seeds of doubt in anyones mind...but will make them discuss your crazy actions (instead of your intended message).
i have never really spoken on social media about my jw family shunning me.
i didnt even discuss or answer any questions about why they didnt come to my wedding, my birthday parties, why there are never any pics of them with me/us together.
until today.... today i woke up and had this insane desire to be open.
People do care, and not just us as exjws, but people in general don't know about what they do in destroying families.
What's crazy is that it has taken me YEARS to understand that - that people do really care. As JWs it was so engrained in us that if you get DFd no one cares about you, no one will love you, you will fail without the org, and you are 'dead' to everyone. 🙄😏. And ironically I learned the true meaning of unconditional love AFTER I was DFd from non-JWs who care about me and my heartache of not having my families support. Those people are the ones giving a "good witness" if you ask me!
i have never really spoken on social media about my jw family shunning me.
i didnt even discuss or answer any questions about why they didnt come to my wedding, my birthday parties, why there are never any pics of them with me/us together.
until today.... today i woke up and had this insane desire to be open.
The shunning has been going on for 10yrs as of next month (wow time flies)! And I'm used to it, which is so horrible to even say out loud - "I'm used to my parents ignoring me". Smh. For years I've had to lie when people ask me "oh how is your mom..how is your dad doing?" Because I truly have NO idea. Any info I get comes from my aunts and uncles 2nd hand. And after 10yrs of pretending my family is "ok", after 10yrs of taking the brunt while my parents play victims in this DF path I've chosen, today, I told the truth. Finally. And based on the responses I've gotten (almost 75)...a conversation has ensued and the exposure has begun. 😊
i haven't seen this posted.. tuesday may 29, 2018 @ 10pm (new york time zone).
cults and extreme belief - jehovah's witnesses.
I have to agree with THIS part...at no time would any CEO or company head of a massive corp be readily available just to chat with a walk-in without a formal appt. To me that came across as a little unstable. I'm sorry. Mail your letter and move on. But I guess they wanted to sensationalize the story by adding the headquarters visit.
Going to HQ was a little overdone. What large organization could you go to, and drop in on the CEO or someone from the Board of Directors without an appointment of some kind??
It would cause a domino effect: the membership would slowly drop because the fear would be gone. People could research in the open, talk and deal with Df family members without repercussions, and the conditional bonds would be broken...then the finances would begin to fall due to less members...then the society would also have a falling out
i have never really spoken on social media about my jw family shunning me.
i didnt even discuss or answer any questions about why they didnt come to my wedding, my birthday parties, why there are never any pics of them with me/us together.
until today.... today i woke up and had this insane desire to be open.
I have never really spoken on social media about my JW family shunning me. I didnt even discuss or answer any questions about why they didnt come to my wedding, my birthday parties, why there are never any pics of them with me/us together. Until TODAY...
TODAY I woke up and had this insane desire to be open. To tell people the truth about it all and to put it out there why on Fathers Day 2018, my father isnt in my life. Below is what I wrote...and let me say that although I have been crying most of today reading and re-reading my post. It is the the support I have gotten from everyone OUTSIDE my immediate family that resonates with me - through and through. Just wanted to show that I'm proud of my damn self today! #yayme
howdy guys!
so how long has it been since you have seen your jw family or friends?
or do you even care to have them in your life anymore?
Almost 2yrs...last saw that at my annual family reunion, where they would walk right by me and not say 1 word - in front of everyone. 😥
i'll be starting a series "answer this:" with thought-provoking questions for debate.
your arguments for and against are most welcome.. i'll start with this: .
why would an omnibenevolent and omniscient god put us through tests of faith?.
I often questioned this myself...
1. If God knows all, why would he create humans he KNEW were going to 'ruin things' for everyone after?
2. Why would God just not kick Adam and Eve to the curb, create new humans, and let us all have a fighting chance?
3. What kind of God knowing sits back and watches people suffer - all to prove a POINT to a bad angel HE created (and could've destroyed)?
4. Didnt God KNOW all the crazy crap that was going to take place beforehand...so why didnt he intervene? And why were the Israelites of old times 'good enough' for miracles and saving from harm/starvation/death right on the spot...yet WE today arent?
5. Why did God allow Satan to even BE in Eden and taunt Adam and Eve? Isnt that playing games with people? And after they sinned, why not just erase their memory and start over? Why allow 1 mistake by 2 dummies cause such a ripple effect?
I have always been curious about those things - because outside of the surface reasoning the JWs provide, there never was any clear answer.
