by ozziepost 29 Replies latest jw friends
Friend of ozziepost.
Your mind will feel like that drawer in your kitchen, where you throw all the stuff you don't know what to do with, but don't want to throw out. Junk Drawer brain I refer to it. Just a jumble mumble of stuff, sliding around in there, each of competing for its own space, every time you slide it open.
Leave the drawer alone. Listen to your heart.
G'day Mate!!!
I personally want to welcome you to this board. I was in your shoes about a year ago, wondering the same things you are.
I was raised in the truth(tm) and at 10 became a reg. unbaptized publisher. At 17 I was baptized. I was very faithful. I was publishing as a baptized publisher for 29 years!
About 2 years ago, I saw the Dateline Special (USA) about the pedophile problem with the WTBS. I sat very shocked and appalled. How dare they complain about the Catholic Church when "they" had the same problem? My rose colored glasses began to come off!
Lack of love within all my moves all over the US, was also a proof that the (WTBS) was not living up to Christian standards.
So, a year ago, I started lurking here. Took me 6 months to start posting! I immediately felt like I belonged here more than at the KH...there are a lot of kind people that have suffered from such lack of love.
I hope to see you post when you feel you can. Please know that you have many "friends" here.
Hugs,
Codeblue
Hello friend from down under. I to was a third generation JW, and pioneered and served where the need was great.
The greater need for me was knowing that I was being lied to all the years I was a Jehovah's Witness and that amounts to 38 years. Once I realized that things in the organization didn't add up and people in the org, were getting nasty and there was cliques and severe detramental gossip that hurt deeply I decided to take my WatchTower Shingle down and get to know what life held for me outside the confines of the WTS. It was not always easy, my nerves were bad and I was all alone, as my entire family and extented family are all JWs. But I quickly found friends and joined a dart league in the local legion and found the JWD forum I am now a stronger healthier person mentally and emotionally. I have some beautiful friends here and can relax in life knowing I did the right thing. It will be hard some days and those are the days you need to talk to someone who is your friend like Mr. and Mrs. Ozzie. Because they care about you.
I do wish you well on your journey and that is how I view my life as never ending journey to new things .
I wish you both peace and contentment.
All my love
Orangefatcat
Hi Ozzie's Friend,
My husband wants to see Australia sooooooooooooo bad. We're in South Carolina, USA. Perhaps at one of y'all's infamous Bar-b-q's? If you've not gone yet....go! Even in usa, we want to go to them.
My husband was born a jw. - he's 57 now, quietly left about 4 yrs ago. Quiet because he wants to keep his relationship with his strong jw family. They don't like me now (more than ever) because they're sure I was the culprit that led his mother's "sweet son" to the devil. lol - I was the fool who kept him IN the org. all these years!
I was a jw for 30 yrs, left quietly with my husband. Thank gawd that my 3 kids didn't take to the WT Corp! We weren't Good Theocratic parents.....and I'm so glad now. And I can stop feeling guilty for "not being good enough."
It took us several years to think this situation through.....we've never looked at the world through "worldly" eyesight. In other words, like normal people.
But it's worth the effort.....freedom's ALWAYS worth the effort. The ending is so worth the effort.
Welcome! I am Mulan's daughter, born into the org, daughter of an elder and pioneer, wife of ministerial servent. My husband started finding out the truth about the org in his research for public talks. The more he learned and shared with me, the more we both decided we needed to take a step back from the org.
I was 27 when we left for good. It was really scary at first and it felt empty. All the hope I had been promised had been exposed for what it truly was and it was hard to adjust to an uncertain future. Meeting nights at home felt strange and quiet but we got over that really fast. Now we are amazed at how much time being a JW eats up.
Now I'm 34 and my husband is 43. Since we left we have had two children (5 & 7) we bought a house and have built our plumbing company into a successful business in our area. We have weekends free to play with our kids and pursue our own interests. I just took a test for my personal fitness trainer certification this morning. My husband is now on a 30 mile bike ride this afternoon and will be scuba diving with two ex-jw's tomorrow. We really enjoy cycling and joined a bicycle club and ride five or six organized bike rides of 33-205 miles every year. In January I ran my first marathon.
These are things we never would have done as a witness, there just isn't time and such selfish pursuits are frowned on and discouraged.
Leaving the witnesses is so scary but with friends like Ozzie and Mrs Ozzie there to support and encourage you, you will not regret it.
By the way, the elders finally paid us our first call a year ago (we had been gone for over six years) because we celebrate Christmas. They announced our DA even though we made it very plain that they were the ones taking action. We never wrote a letter or expressed a desire to be officially DF'd or DA'd.
There is nothing like freedom. Once you are out and free, you will really love life.
Rachel
Thanks everyone for sharing! You're great! Well, we know that, eh?
But I'm sure our friend will be upbuilt and reassured by these thoughtful expressions.
Again, thanks.
Cheers, Ozzie
G'day Friend,
I was in the Organisation for 19 years. I served as an MS for seven years and my family was considered the 'model' to aspire to - dutiful wife, two children regular pioneers, one child regular auxiliary pioneer and youngest child reaching out for baptism. If there was a family item, we got it!
Now, my wife, two sons (one of the regular pioneers and the child reaching out for baptism) and I are OUT!! My two daughters are still in and shunning the rest of us. Haven't really spoken in over a year; haven't seen my older daughter at all.
Yes, it's hard to accept when you realise you've been lied to. It's hard to stomach that the integrity you held yourself is not shown by those in the highest positions. It's hard to take that you won't see the promises made by the Organisation because it's all a pack of lies - it's just a money-making racket. 607 BCE = LIE. 1914 CE = LIE. Governing Body = LIE. 144,000 = LIE. Generation to see these things occur = LIE.
Exiting on realising these lies = FREEDOM! Reading the posts here = COMFORT! Joining in this forum = REAL FRIENDSHIP.
Be joyful at realising that there are literally thousands of us out there. You are most definitely not alone. It IS hard at first, but the pain passes and then you can really start to live. Every time just one person leaves the Organisation its demise is one step closer. For now, just take time to chill out, come here often and read the posts and then, when you're ready, feel free to introduce yourself.
Love to you and your family.
Ian, Claire, Karl & Dominic
G'day Mate from the USA!!
First of all you are not alone. The WTS wants you to feel that way, you are not alone, remember that. There are many of us that feel just as you do.This very fact helped me tremendously that there are others like me. It takes time to heal, give yourself time, trust me, it will get better, this is only temporary. What you are going though is the grieving stage right now, you have lost so much, so be kind to yourself, do things that you enjoy, take time for yourself. Freedom is so worth it, just wait and see! And take advantage of any support and help that you can get. Be true to yourself, to me that is so important that I have this quote "to thine ownself be true" engraved on a ring that I wear, boy do I need that as a reminder sometimes :-)
Just remember the pain passes. Take it one day at a time, I know it's a cliché, but it's so true.
((((Hugs)))))
Hapgood
(((((((((aussie visitor))))))))there's the hug...here's the sympathy....poor you......you must be feeling shell shocked right now...I hope you get the chance to read a lot and allow yourself time to let the things you're learning about the organisation settle. Give yourself time to think about the things you've read before you act on them and look after yourself through all this.I really think you go through stages similar to a bereavement while all this is happening and time does help.Perhaps try not to make any big decisions in your life until you feel 'even' and you've come out the otherside.Sometimes when you're reading all of this and feeling overwhelmed it's a good idea to step back occasionally.
hope you're ok .
You're not alone. Read this DB if you can.
It will get better, I guarantee it.
Blondie
