by journey-on 17 Replies latest jw friends
I know what you mean journey-on:
That feeling of community is hard to live without. Just occasionally if I drive past a bunch of Witnesses on a street corner I feel a tiny stab of nostalgia (until I slap myself in the face and drive on . It's definitely not the Witnessing I miss, ...but the relaxed stroll around the street with a friend having a good chat, believing that you are doing a good thing.
But anyway, thats not to say that good friends can't be found elsewhere, right?
Hey Wavvy, find a cause you truly believe in, and volunteer. You will meet real friends there!
Am I being too solution-oriented? Maybe I have been spending too much time with my partner (who is a man), and I forgot how to do this listening and empathizing thing that women are so good at. I mean, I totally empathize, but I feel like I am just giving all these "solutions" instead of saying, "It is really hard, I know it is too."
Well, I said that too, then.
May I give you some advice? Don't wait for people to come into your life who may be getting married or having babies. Why not just have small gatherings for the friends you have now? A former co-worker, my neighbor's daughter in law and I had a tea party. We had a great time. My friend Michelle and her teenage son come over fo supper frequently on Friday nights for Chinese food, pizza, chicken or just something I throw together, and we cackle like a bunch of hens! It's so much fun to celebrate the small stuff!
I miss the showers too....the fungii under my armpit is atrocious
Give it time and you'll get used to the fungii. I've grown quite attached to mine.
W
NO It is not Shallow, I miss that too. But I will not go back, I was treated real bad. My Family is in Kentucky and in Florida.
So I don't have Family here.
My wife was a loner in the KH, so she didn't know about all the showers. As she opened up to non JW's, that's when she started attending all the showers.
Okay, I am going to tell you what I did. I had a very horrible situation, and walked away from the cong. I am a forth generation JW..or was. My dad has been an elder since the elder arrangement was adopted in the 60's or 70's. It hurt my family to see me take my two children and walk away. My Mom said "If you leave, you will NEVER be happy." I thought about that a moment. Then I thought about a woman that I knew that disassociated herself. My dad even served on her commitee. She epitomized happiness. Within 5 minutes of my mom saying that, I went over to this woman that I barely knew (I moved to this cong. a year after she was df'd) and said "My name is... are you happy?". We talked for over an hour, although she was at work. She invited me over to her place, took me to church with her, and introduced me to a new network of friends. I am never lonely. Many of them were former JW's. None of us are bitter. But we have a connection. Last year I served at the church for a Thanksgiving meal for the needy. I volunteer to bake for funerals and other events. The closeness of women is replaced with another closeness. Not only that, but I feel needed and wanted. It's the best feeling that I have ever known.
She invited me over to her place, took me to church with her, and introduced me to a new network of friends. I am never lonely. Many of them were former JW's.The above statement is a falsehood JWs perpetrate...that when JWs leave the org, they NEVER join another church because they know in their heart only JWs have the Truth. For years I believed that! Even after many years into my fade, I would tell others this.
Since coming on this board, I have found out that many have joined "Chritendom's" churches after leaving the WTS and found peace and happiness. I was surprised by this fact actually.
