Hi Tim,
What an interesting post. You are one of the people I remember very clearly from when I first started coming here in the early summer of last year. Now this post from you corresponds very closely indeed with my own experience.
(Just to fill you in, in case you've missed my posts, I came very, very close to baptism this spring, was publishing for many months, just escaped when reality dawned, somewhat traumatically last month.)
I made what seemed to me to be some real friends in the congregation over the last 2 years. Two sisters here, and one in another congregation, are, I can tell, genuinely distressed on a personal level that I've left, though many more, plus brothers, are love-bombing me and visiting me playing various roles in trying to get me to come back.
What you wrote corresponds with the sisters who I feel are, or could be real friends, especially an elderyl sister in a nearby congregation. She is genuinely upset. Yet all three can't see beyond the sadness of my leaving, my turning my back on Jehovah, as they see it, and refusing the "chance of life".You wrote:
She then says: "it makes me so sad because i know that you are wrong and that youve become misled. i will never stop asking Jehovah to help you to see this".
It's almost uncanny! That's virtually word for word what is being said to me. You, Tim, come over as actually stronger than me. Because these are people I genunely like, and because I recognise that they genuinely like me, my normal clarity of thought gets confused, not so much while I'm talking to them but afterwards.
I really admire you. I remember that you were brought up with the JW's and you have been incredibly brave and strong-minded to liberate yourself in so many ways. Hats off to you, Tim!