When some of the old time JW's time is up i wonder what they think in their private moments.

by karter 44 Replies latest jw experiences

  • ÁrbolesdeArabia
    ÁrbolesdeArabia

    The old geezers and widows I know are still strong in their faith to the best of their physical abilities. I think the group who is the most bitter is the 40s- upper 50s because they are at the point of life where they feel they got screwed and must figure out how to support themselves financially. Your at the age where you have no skills, if you go back to college your competition is a young twenty-something who the company might view as a long-term asset where HR will view you as ???? Your forty-nine years old and you have experience of a janitor or window washer, what else? "Well, I know how to speak in public, go up to people's house with a message that angers them!"

    Let me revise this, age bracket of anger and sourful bitterness 38-57 because you are screwed if you have no education and put the Truth first in your life. The time to get your education age 38 to 44 "Master's Degree" and look! Your considered as one poster put it "The Old Age of Youth!". It might surprise many but the elderly are just as fisty as "Mouthy" and many do have a outlook that is bright even if they are going to die. It's our age bracket that has the most bitterness. We are bitter things are the way they are and our age presents a great challenge for relying on the Watchtower Society's horrible "Life Planning Guidance". I visit plenty of older JWs who are left behind from the Shepherds Of the Flock, and they are only angry at the lack of visitations made to them in their rest-homes, they think "The Faithful Slave is wise and discrete, it's those bad people in the flock who left me to rot in this cursed place. If only the other Witnesses would pay heed to the solid advice of our fellow slaves!"

    You probably have a different demographics than I do, so I post what I have encountered.

  • AnnOMaly
    AnnOMaly

    There's one elder I know - he's in his 60s, 2nd generation and with recent health difficulties. The fact that the 'end' has been constantly 'round the corner' all his life, from being a kid, and yet 'we're still here in this system' just eats at him. It spills out in his talks and comments from time to time; he reminisces about the hype of the early/mid-70s - 'who'd have thought we'd have got to 2013?', etc. He will always be a JW - still a WT believer, too much invested, big JW family. I feel so sad when I hear him express what clearly is his disappointment and then swing back to 'but it's still the Truth.'

  • yadda yadda 2
    yadda yadda 2

    Probably most of them feel they've played Pascal's Wager the right way and are rather expecting to soon be resurrected in a paradise earth.

  • jam
    jam

    The few brothers that left around the same time as

    I, (DF or faded) all doing great. We were all in our 40,s.

    Those brothers that remain (60,s and older now) they are screwed.

    My ex- brother in law in his 70,s, still working, a electrician by trade

    owned his company, but never saved or SSI. Another brother a

    branch overseer, all those years as a missionary in his 70,s, still

    crawling under folks homes doing electrical repairs. Another brother

    died in his late 70,s, still working until the day he died.

    I bet you will see very few JW men in a retirement facility.

  • respectful_observer
    respectful_observer

    1 Cor 15:19

    "...we are of all men most to be pitied."

  • LongHairGal
    LongHairGal

    ARBOLES:

    There are so many sad stories on this topic.

    Even though I am bitter towards the religion, thankfully, I was a "disobedient" witness who wouldn't quit my full-time job. I am single and have to support myself and I had no intention of pursuing poverty so jealous idiots would like me better. So what, if I wasn't invited to secret gatherings for pioneers? They can keep their gatherings!

    However, somebody at an advanced old age still working like what Jam mentioned is a horrible scenario, and becoming more common as time goes on.

    I do agree though that the most bitter are the age group you mentioned (40s through upper 50s). They are in a damn panic and realize they have to do something! So what you see are them scrambling around trying to play a futile game of catch-up. And, sorry to say, education has to be gotten at a young age if it is to make any difference in somebody's earning capacity. (Of course, getting an education just for the sake of education is another thing entirely and not what I am talking about.)

    But for those 50 somethings, the problem is that they cannot really catch up at this point. Even though saving something is better than nothing, even if they saved every nickel it is not going to overcompensate for what they didn't make in the previous 20-30 years, generally speaking. And the employment situation today is a joke.

    I wish everybody the best in coping with this awful scenario!

  • gma-tired2
    gma-tired2

    My husband and I are in our mid 60's. Our mothers have lived past their mid 80s This history makes us feel possible to live another 20 years. When I hit my mid 30's we had some setbacks that meant I had to go to work. Hated it at that time but now I am happy it happened, when I see the amount we receive from SS it would be scary to live on that amount luckly I went to work for a company pension plan so our retirment is better then those that always tried to struggle on nothing. Our moms both remained faithful into their 80s but I have wondered how much my mom truly belived in her heart before she died. My MIL still believes she will live long enough to survive Armegeddon, she is 86.

  • gma-tired2
    gma-tired2

    My husband and I are in our mid 60's. Our mothers have lived past their mid 80s This history makes us feel possible to live another 20 years. When I hit my mid 30's we had some setbacks that meant I had to go to work. Hated it at that time but now I am happy it happened, when I see the amount we receive from SS it would be scary to live on that amount luckly I went to work for a company pension plan so our retirment is better then those that always tried to struggle on nothing. Our moms both remained faithful into their 80s but I have wondered how much my mom truly belived in her heart before she died. My MIL still believes she will live long enough to survive Armegeddon, she is 86.

  • designs
    designs

    My mother believed she would see the New System right up to the final moments when the cancer took her life.

  • skeeter1
    skeeter1

    I know two old JWs, one dead and one alive.

    The one who died got very depressed during her last few years. in and out of mental hospitals, addicted to prescription drugs, and kept the house dark. I think she didn't want to see her reflection in the mirror as she was now looking elderly. A little before her death, she asked a family member who was talking to her about the JWs, "What if it's all a lie?" Then, she recanted and shut up. It was a peak into her doubting.

    THe other, is a happy go lucky, waiting on Armegheddon and dreams of Paradise. Once told me that it would come in a few years, and then immediately said that I would see it in my lifetime. He absolutely admits that he can not handle any critical information on the WTS. Even if it's just all WTS quotes on Generation, he can't handle seeing it. In some respect, it's the ostrich head in the sand routine. He admits that the WTS is not always right and is aghast at the rules that permitted pedophilia. For that moment, his head was out of the sand.

    So, there you have it.

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