by Joyal 55 Replies latest members private
I'm glad to see your name on the marquee, Joyal.
It gets better with time.
Just keep posting and before you know it you'll be totally free from the deceptions of the WT.
All of us had or still have many of the same anxieties and uncertainties you are facing right now. Just remember that you are not alone on your journey.
All of us were deceived by the cult.
What beautiful words I am reading tonight! I will try to keep all of this in mind and put down the Crisis book.
I don't think I will ever be a part of organized religion again, so maybe I can take the necessary time to discover who I really am.
You are all very special people and I am sincerely grateful for your kindness.
Joyal
Hi Joyal.
What JamesThomas said.
Joyal,
Welcome. Take time with this. Don't rush yourself. You hit on a key point: You asked, "If I'm not a JW what am I?"
Well, Joyal, you lost yourself when you became a JW. To a degree, you have a blank slate to write on now. So a good question for you to start pondering might be, "Who and what do I WANT to be." Enjoy the journey.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul
I was a pissed off believing walkaway for 18 years before I finally looked at it all. If I'd had Internet back then we could have shortened that 18 years up a LOT. Back then I wasn't confronted by Witness relatives or elders. It took the elders 10 years to make their first casual visit to me.
I was silent to everybody but my wife. She knew how I felt but she never turned me in to the Witness cops. I wasn't really afraid of em anyway.
Every single question I had about the Witnesses was answered in Crisis Of Conscience and Christian Freedom. Then I had questions about religion. That took longer.
I had depressions too. Those had some odd causes and effects.
>>What a fool I was. But hopefully my family will take be back in, not so sure about my love.
My parents welcomed me back into their lives. My friends from high school were anxious to hear about how I got into JW's and how I got out. You'll be surprised how forgiving "worldly" people are! (Much MORE so than you might expect a JW to be!)
Blank slate... I like that. Enjoy recreating yourself!
Dave
Welcome, Joyal, what a blessing to find this place where others have experienced what you have and what I have. Its incredible to talk to someone who really understand what we mean, I don't think anyone else would ever believe some of the stuff that has gone on and that goes on with JWs, very surreal.
((huggs))
Sherry
A blank slate -- now that's kind of scary at my age. But maybe I can eventually start to view it as a new adventure and something to be embraced, not frightened of doing. I'm going to try. Thanks.
Hi, Joyal.
It is hard, isn't it? I barely slept for an entire week when I finally woke up to the fact the "the truth" is anything but. Reading and posting here was and still is good therapy. Its been about eight months since I registered here and just about all of my internal conflict has been resolved. I am still embarrassed that I became a JW in the first place (I joined as an adult, wasn't raised in), but it doesn't overwhelm me any more. Of course, I was inactive for several years before I found out JWs were full of garbage ... I think that made it easier for me because I'd already distanced myself.
Every day that goes by, it will get a bit easier to cope. There's no rush, no one pushing you to do anything. You can take all the time you need. Kind of a nice contrast to how we existed under the Watchtower.
Luna2,
I also became a Witness as a young adult (actually I was in college when I found the "Truth"). I spent 13 years as a regular pioneer and all of that, so this "walking away" is very new to me. But I feel like I will throw up if I sit there and listen to anymore lies.
The Daniel book is especially murder now that I know about the false timelines they used to come to these conclusions. I just feel so stupid for being so gullible and being so "proud" that I could actually explain all this 607 BCE, 2,520 years, etc. etc. stuff.
I need to stop now. There's nothing I can do about the past, right? Need to look to the future, as you all have said.
Joyal
