On the 1st March 2005 I joined this forum. I was depressed and all over the place. I felt like a terrible person because I still believed everything I had been taught by they JWs and felt like such a sinner. It didn't take me long to realise that there were lots of holes. After my world crumbling down around me I was soon in a position to build it up again. And thanks to the encouragement from people on this site it was a very quick process. ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/7/87175/1.ashx )
At the time I had a fairly new boyfriend. I had lots of issues and he had a difficult time trying to understand them. Reading about others experiences here and having a place to spill my guts helped me overcome some social issues. I'm still with this guy and in fact we are getting married in only 17 sleeps! That's progress! ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/112802/1.ashx )
Then there were the mother issues. My mum is still a very active JW. I still get upset by the treatment she gets from her loving congregation and wish she could escape them. But I learnt to respect her beliefs, especially if I ever wanted her to respect mine. ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/110489/1.ashx )
I got a permanant job where I am respected, getting promoted and enjoying thoroughly. All my years as a witness I longed for this! ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/9/110330/1.ashx )
There were other highlights along the way. Like having my mother acknowledge my birthday for the first time, ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/89169/1.ashx ) reuniting with BlissIsIgnorance after 9 years, ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/94629/1.ashx ) making a life long friend with Misanthropic, ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/94864/1.ashx ) and organising an apostafest in the coldest horrible day of october last year! ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/19/97895/1.ashx )
There were the low moments too, losing my puppy in a road accident, saying goodbye to many people I have come to call friends here and my heart breaking when I read the stories of anguish that people shared with us here.
But here I am today. Content, happy & secure. My JW mum wrote me a letter this week here's some of the things she said to me...
We have come such a long way in our relationship, and you have contributed so much to this due to your loving commitment to your family, and your tolerance and empathy has contributed to what we now have.
To see you so satisfied and happy with your lot in life with what Dad and I (and I’m sure many others) perceive as the basics of life, we realised that you had something very special within and that made us so proud, and again, we told everyone who would listen that you were one of few that had true success. But it also drove home what the important things in life were.
I'm one of the lucky ones. I thank God for that and I thank all of you for that.
