Jonty:
What an inspiring story.. and thanks for sharing so much of your life! It's so gratifying to see people that are truly happy after the Borg. It warms my cockles... wait.. *do I have cockles*? Anyway.. welcome to you and Coco!
CG
The Best years of our lives...
by Jonty Parkin 18 Replies latest jw friends
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happehanna
Welcome happy for you.
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Sassy
Welcome to JWD Jonty Parkin! We are so glad you found us! Your story is like so many of us here. I myself was baptized in the 70s (74) and feel the loss of so many years which should have been filled with other things but of course we were denied... and when I chose to quit, I fully expected all these bad things to happen to me.. it's like a dream that when you wake up, you wonder what you will see when you open your eyes??? but guess what? we didn't see a life of doom and lack of good things in our lives like we were told would happen!! no.. we found we could have lives outside the JW box.. FRIENDS.. TRUE FRIENDS outside the JW box.. and love as well... who said there were no blessings??? We were sold a bad deal of goods...
We look forward to getting to know you!!!
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bikerchic
Jonty!
Now, (thanks to my hard-earned degree that "the brothers" desperately tried to prevent me from completing), I live and work in China as an English teacher. I am engaged to a beautiful Chinese woman who loves me as much as I love her. I have finally found all the things that I (and no doubt many like me) only pretended to have in "the truth"; namely - a true sense of purpose, honest and loyal friends, true and unsupervised love, contentment, and above all - FREEDOM!
So, I don't know who or what has blessed me - I have kind of lost touch with the concept of a single, idebtifiable god, along with the desire to find out - but in the end, and I can only speak for myself, I have been blessed! Though I now have very little in the way of material assets, these days really are the best years of my life!
Seriously you blessed yourself by doing the hard work of getting your degree. I have come to the conclusion that we bless ourselves (not a god) by doing and bringing the blessings into our lives of our own doing. Seek and you shall find!
Enjoy your stay here and congrats on your engagement!
Kate
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HadEnuf
Welcome Jonty!
You seem to be farther along the evolutionary ladder than some of us. I applaud you for your ability to look at the good side of things rather than all the bad stuff that has happened in your life. You made some mighty fine points in your post...and even though it is hard, I am trying more and more to look at the positives in my life and the future years of freedom and joy ahead of me. Happiness really does come from within; as you stated, you don't have much in a material way...but your optimistic outlook is what gives you an abundance in life. I wish you and your bride-to-be much happiness. Congrats on the education thing too.
Cathy L.
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franklin J
welcome aboard, Jonty,
yes, there are many of us who have survived to build positive, successful, happy lives. It can be done.
Welcome to the forum
regards, Frank
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LittleToe
Glad to hear you've moved on with you life, pal.
There's plenty to hear here - be prepared to come to realise the depth to which you'd been duped. It's an unsettling experience.
Welcome aboard!!!Ross, from Scotland.
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blacksheep
Welcome Jonty!!! Sounds like you've done pretty darned good for yourself, and the best years of your life are happening right now and in the future.
I basically had to fight to go to university, but I am very similar to you in that it just confirmed and put a logical/emotional framework around the doubts that I always had as a JW. The degree/and subsequent studies opened more career and personal opportunties than I could ever have imagined. I spent my late 20's/30's making up for lost time socially. I worked internationally, which was also a tremendous eye-opener and life enhancer. (I remember thinking, as I lived peacefully in a quaint villiage in Europe: I wonder what negativity JW's would find here? I think also that the JW's are such an American thing: you travel to other countries and see more of a continuum of life--their socieities have been around a lot longer and they've sort of figured things out. Might not be making much sense..)
Anyway, I have had great experiences, some bittersweet, but that's life, after all. I have a beautiful family, home, challenging career. I think finally I have shed the "fear" that JW's brainwash you to believe: that if you leave them, you'll be punished, somehow, somewhere.
The reverse is true: if you open youself up to life and experiences, great things do happen. It doesn't mean a few bad things don't--but that happens to everyone.
Best of luck. Hope you stick around--your story is awesome. What's it like to live in China, btw??
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xjw_b12
Jonty. I don't think we have any posters here from China.
A couple of questions, if you don't mind.
1. I'm curious as to whether you have had any contact with any witnesses there. I believe the JWs there are "underground" so to speak, but I would like to know if you have seen any "sign" of them in your area.
2. It's my understanding that access to the internet is difficult and censored / monitored in China. What is your experience with that?
David from Canada