Witness parents?

happysunshine

Do any of you have Witness parents? If so, how do you deal with them? I'm not fealing really great about the way everything has turned out. -J

avishai

I did, but my dad died, & I pulled my mom out over a 10 year period.

imallgrowedup

Happy -

I do. Both been in around 40 years. I'm not trying to pry here, but do you want to share what happened that you're not feeling good about?

growedup

Mysterious

Dad's been out for a long time but mom's still in. It makes things hard cuz she won't listen to any criticism on the subject.

It was my parents who turned me in to the elders upon thier finding out I had a serious drug problem. It was parents who threw me out of the house when I told them I did not want to pioneer anymore after leaving bethel. It was my parents that had a whole witness career planned for me, bethel, gilead, blah blah blah. Thus college or any kind of real world training was not provided for me, thus I had nothing to fall on after Bethel. After taking me in from the streets after being homeless, they insisted I sit in on the Watchtower study, so you know I quickly left to the streets again! NO MORE STUDYING!

This all came to a head several years ago when I was visiting my parents in Puerto Rico and a very ugly fight occured in which I lost complete control of myself and cursed out my parents. I have made up with them since but I have felt such a horrible guilt over treating my parents this way, but I guess a lot of pent up frustration had to be released.

Recently my Father has started expressing doubt about the org after 36 years, and serving as an elder and all sorts of congregation positions. My Mother however is a die hard witness, reading her daily text book every day. I still speak to my Father weekly over the phone and internet and try to subliminally interject thoughts into his mind about how can this be the truth? He even read both of Ray Franz's books which amazed me, but he didn't tell my Mother.

alias

I do and they are need-greaters, pio, and elder. Our relationship is quite estranged as they moved states away to knock on strangers doors.

Since I'm faded, they still touch base with me here and there. But the conversations tread lightly.

To preserve any relationship whatsoever with them I just let things be. They seem happy. Now me, that's another story...

Gopher

My parents completely abandoned me after they learned I wasn't coming back to the one-and-only true brotherhood in the whole world, the place where love abounds. They "love" me so much, they won't even tell me how they're doing. I guess that would be spiritually dangerous.

It's taken a few years to get over it. But since they have decided to be unlovable, I will not force myself on them. I have had to move on with new friends and family.

If they decide to act human again and show even a small amount of interest in me, I'd be more than happy to open the door to at least "small talk" with them.

It'd be nice to have them there, at least as a sounding board. (Can't most grown children count on their parents, at least for that?) But since it's not to be, and I've been at my wit's end trying to figure out how to make them communicate with me --- it's just not meant to be. It's a sad fact of life I've learned to accept.

HoChiMin

Parents who shun their own children because of JW beliefs are seriously troubled. Just like the whole organization is troubled. They don?t see the backlash that outsiders see when they here of such bizarre behaviors. Who would want to become part of a hate group that turns on family at the instruction that it?s a loving thing to do? [Example: (Q) How?s your mother / father I hope they are well? (A) I don?t know their Jehovah?s Witnesses and won?t talk to me because I don?t believe as they do.] JW?s think this stance will encourage the errant one to return as well as increase their ranks and spread love to all. How ironic or should that be idiotic?

HCM

Black Sheep

edited

Skuse me folks

Just havn a bad start to the year.

detective

Hey forty,

it sounds like you overcame quite a bit... I hope you are doing well and are proud of how far you've come.