Regrets

by Blueblades 25 Replies latest jw friends

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  Blueblades

  Do you beat yourself up about things you should've, would've, could've done with your life, instead of becoming one of Jehovah's Witnesses.What Regrets do you have, if any? What are you doing now to overcome your Regrets?

  Blueblades
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  nicolaou

  There have been times when I've felt that way - occasionally I still do but I've come to accept that my JW past is part of who I am. It doesn't define me but it also is not something I am ashamed of. Actually it spurs me on to try and help anyone in the same predicament, especially youngsters who may not even realize how their future is being stolen from them.

  Oh, and before anyone else gets this in...

  'My Way' - Frank Sinatra

  And now, the end is near,
  And so I face the final curtain.
  My friend, I'll say it clear,
  I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
  I've lived a life that's full,
  I've traveled each and every highway,
  But more, much more than this,
  I did it my way.

  Regrets, I've had a few,
  But then again, too few to mention.
  I did what I had to do,
  And saw it through, without exemption.
  I planned each charted course,
  Each careful step along the byway,
  But more, much more than this,
  I did it my way.

  Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew,
  When I bit off more than I could chew.
  But through it all, when there was doubt,
  I ate it up, and spat it out.
  I faced it all, and I stood tall,
  And did it my way.

  I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
  I've had my fill, my share of losing.
  And now, as tears subside,
  I find it all so amusing.
  To think I did all that,
  And may I say, not in a shy way,
  "No, oh no not me, I did it my way."

  For what is a man, what has he got?
  If not himself, then he has naught.
  To say the things he truly feels,
  And not the words of one who kneels.
  The record shows I took the blows,
  - And did it my way!
• 

  confusedjw

  Yes, but even more so for my wife who grew up (from her teens) as a witness. She missed out on college and that has really been bothering her lately.

  Me - all those Saturday's I could have been working around the home.

  And evenings when I could have been studying.
• 

  Lehaa

  Yep, should have married my soul mate and run away with him.

  Instead i was a good girl. said goodbye to him, married a good JW boy.

  Lived in hell for 11 years.

  Then found my soul mate realized we still loved each other and spend the next few years wondering what could have been
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  Balsam

  I regret spending too many years in the WTS, 30 years.

  I regret raising my sons in it.

  I regret that I allowed a religion to hold me in a bad marriage.

  I regret I never investigated the bible in depth like I have now.

  I regret my innocent trusting nature was betrayed, and I allowed it.

  I regret not being younger when I left the JW's relgion, instead of waking up at 50 years old.

  I WISH I had known in advance my son Dak was going to be killed because of an auto accident, so I could have changed the course of things.

  Now having said that, I want to add that there is nothing we can do to go back and redue the past. All we can and though to repair the poor choices we willingly made. We can learn from our mistakes and make the future better. We can be smarter. We can educate ourselves. We can go to college and educate ourselves even more. Don't let your regret hold you back from living a better life in the future. If you have family that is shunning you, then cut your losses and find new friends and family that will embrace you and love you for who you are. If a JW family is so shallow as to shun you if you get disfellowshipped, then they are better gone from your life. Yes I have lost some family, and I've lost a lot of people I had once believed loved me as I loved them. But the loss of them has happily been replaced by even more wonderful friends and new family. I've got many blessing now, and each and everyone is precious to me.

  Balsam
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  LittleToe

  Nic beat me to it, with the Sinatra quote. I try to live life with few regrets (sure there are some, but life HAS to go on).

  It's all part of life's rich tapestry.
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  Doubtfully Yours

  I regret having gotten baptized at such a young age just to gain my parents' approval.

  DY
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  tijkmo

  i regret not having children

  i regret trying to get reinstated

  i regret getting reinstated

  i regret having found my soul mate..(cos by that time i was happily married)

  but most of all i regret little toe beating me to use of the expression 'lifes rich tapestry'
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  whyamihere

  I have always said when I die I want the song "My Way" played at my funeral!

  Brooke
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  Quentin

  I regret the education I missed more than anything. What I don't regregt is seeing my daughter get hers, or seeing my grandchildren growing up with the ability to think for themselves.