The Wonderful Effects of JW Meetings

by metatron 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  metatron

  I can remember coming home rushed and tired after another pointless Service Meeting. Now that I no

  longer attend, I notice this semi-angry state of mind in my relatives, as they return home. Of course,

  they would never think of not attending.

  I can also recall seeing brothers race to the parking garage while ripping their neckties off and

  grimacing in contemplation of the fight thru traffic, once the district assembly was concluded.

  Now, I'm secretly laughing at the whole thing. What were we thinking?

  metatron
• 

  WTWizard

  Nice not to have to rush to make the meetings. Going after working all night is a drag; working all night and then having maybe 4 hours of sleep before the meeting, and then having to work the next evening was a drag.

  Or, when I would be on a tight schedule, and they would stay endlessly after the meeting. They didn't give a %#*@ if I made it to work on time or not. All they wanted was for me to make all the meetings regardless. And stay through them.

  The a$$emblies were also bad. After working all night, I would have to go to the a$$embly. Staying awake was hard: I could count on having a headache before it was done. Often I would get volunteered to help out with something. It was a total waste of time, especially after the first one. I would have done better on JWD or some other apostate Web site.
• 

  Scully

  One thing I noticed as a JW was that we NEVER EVER got a chance to sleep in. It was go to work every day, then on weekends, you had to get up just as you would during the week and get ready for Field Service™ and the Meeting™.

  Mid-week meetings were equally a nuisance - the house had to be cleaned for the Book Study™ and then you had people in your house, wanting to socialize until 9-9:30pm - and then on Thursday you had to keep the kids up late, often they got behind in their homework, and didn't get enough sleep for school the next day. It was so frustrating to make sure everyone got ready, that supper was on the table at a certain time and we often scrambled out the door so we could make it to the meeting on time.

  How that translates from "My yoke is kindly and my load is light" I never quite understood.

  If there's one thing that I enjoy more than anything now, it's the ability to sleep in on the weekends.
• 

  truthseeker

  I'm also laughing at the whole thing. I make maybe 40% of the meetings now.

  Does anyone care? No.

  If someone did care, my shepherding notification system (telephone) would alert me, but it rarely makes any noise.

  When I do go to the meetings, there is a huge mental gulf between them and me - I see everything in a different light.

  Nothing makes sense anymore.

  I leave thanking God that I am no longer a mental captive, even though I am physically captive for the benefit of my spouse.

  As time goes by, I start to notice things that now really irritate me. Brothers who seemed genuine and kind were simply passing the time talking to me, not out of any sincere interest, but because they felt an obligation to "widen out."

  Then there are those who have developed the remarkable ability of seeing through solid objects - myself for example. They behave as if I am not there and look right through me.

  What really galls me is that elders will talk to my wife, and I will be standing there, and they will not even acknowledge me.

  Who needs friends like that?
• 

  Warlock

  Just READING about it is making me tired.

  Warlock
• 

  truthseeker

  Scully, I can relate to the "never having a lie-in"

  When I worked full time and was a full time student, the weekends were the only time I had - and I had to study too. Consequently, my field service time diminshed somewhat.

  When you work 9-5 five days a week, you look forward to a weekend. Even Jesus took time out to rest.

  The WT praises those parents who come to the meeting exhausted and say that although tired, they couldn't have missed a meeting. Yet, does anyone asks the kids who have spent a full day at school and have to homework afterwards and then study the Botchtower?
• 

  aquagirl

  i remeber as a littel kid that everyone smelled bad.like when folks would stand to sing or pray,it reeked..i went to a memorial this year,to please my parents,and to show off how fab i am,and noticed the same thing..why do they smell so bad?its not even bad perfume.its pure dirty ass...make me want to light up just to get a decent breath of air...harharhar
• 

  WTWizard

  Just think how the children feel! They have homework, and since that damn 2/2004 KM "suggests" service at 3:00 PM after school, they have to put it aside to support that arrangement. Then supper, and then the meeting. They never get a chance to unwind. By the time they are done with the meeting and in bed, it can be as late as 10:30 PM on a regular night (and if that hounder-hounder is in town, it can be as late as midnight or even later!) On a School Night mind you!

  Worse, this is usually Thursday night. And Fridays are the most popular day for those unit tests that children need to be studying for. And they should be sleeping well the night before. If the hounder-hounder is there, he will happily cause those children to flunk those tests just so he can ramble on for an extra hour or two.

  The whole week is like this. The latest you are allowed up is maybe 7:30 in the morning. And that was before that KM of 2/2004 came up with the bright "suggestion" of having meetings for street work at the Kingdumb Hell starting at 5:30 in the morning. Of course, you are not to complain about it. You had to make it work. You couldn't say that this isn't going to work and not support it--you had to support it! So much for being able to sleep late if you are sick, tired, or had to stay up late the night before.
• 

  truthseeker

  aquagirl,

  that's funny - can't say I have noticed that!