(I posted this as a "reply" to my original post --- which was probably the wrong thing to do! --- but thought that if no one went back to read that post again, it would get buried, so I've copied it into this new post)
Hello!
I logged off shortly after making my post and when I returned I was so blown away by your welcome! Thanks, to each of you... I really appreciate it (and to be honest, "needed" that! )
I would love to be able to reply to each of you individually, but I guess that might be near impossible, so I will do my best to answer a couple of questions... I've been out of the organization since the 1980's. I am so grateful for some the things that have happened in my life since I left, like re-connecting with my non-JW family, but there were sad things that happened also (as happened to most of us in one way or another), which I hope to share soon.
I have enjoyed the different "discussions" going on here and have learned a lot from them already. I have often wished that there would be a group of former JWs in my area that would be willing to talk about things that have happened in our lives since leaving the organization. There is a group in my area, but they are coming from an Evangelical Christian perspective and I've gone that "route" and found it lacking. It's a long story (one I would love to discuss with others sometime), but after leaving the JWs, I associated with various Evangelical churches in my area, getting almost as involved in them as I was in the Watchtower organization. My inquiring mind keep proding me to examine the origins of the Bible and Christianity. When I did this with some of the same questions (and a million more) I asked myself when I was leaving the JWs I was blown away by the "answers" I found. Many of these things have been discussed on this site, but until now, I haven't had anyone to discuss these with "face to face". I do have some friends who "understand", but I can't really banter back and forth to dig into these issues. I consider myself open to and a seeker of "truth", but the evidence just doesn't seem to be there that there is anyone with a direct connection to "God". Sure would be nice though!
Well, that's enough for now... thanks again for the warm welcome!
ExpandedMind
"The mind, once expanded to the dimensions of larger ideas, never returns to its original size." --- Oliver Wendell Holmes