#exjwsouthafrica

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Which one you choosing 🤔🫣

Heavenly Pleasures sign next to the verse we learned in church

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I celebrated my birthday which is something I never thought I'd do. I was brought up to believe that celebrating birthdays is displeasing to God and wrong. This year was disorientating as I was doubting and questioning everything I was once so sure of. I went through a spiritual/religious crisis of some sorts and everything I believed in fell apart when I allowed myself to question and critically analyse my religion. My questions became my answers and I knew I had to walk away even though it would be a heavy journey forward. What do you do when you finally realise that you're in a high control, high demand, cult-like religion? The words of Elizabeth Gilbert deeply resonated with me when trying to answer the question: "The only thing more unthinkable than leaving was staying; the only thing more impossible than staying was leaving." I had to walk away from everything I thought I knew and all that I thought I was. In the process, I have lost friends and family whom I deeply love. I guess curiosity killed this cat🙈 but more accurately, it killed harmful beliefs and I think with that, it's given birth to more love in my heart, to leaping into freedom & to less shame about who I am.

I am grateful to everyone who has supported me through this journey and for their unconditional love 💕 Happy birthday to me and happy new year to you!!🥳✨

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A more serious post for today:

I'm realizing that it was a lot easier to be a Witness as a child than as an adult. As a child, all anyone wants is to feel safe and loved and I had a whole community of people who provided that. I was given the promise of a perfect future, a hope I carried inside of me as comfort whenever life felt tough.

But once I grew up I began to loathe how so many beautiful things were forbidden to me, things that in the past I had zero interest in because I was just a kid (things like college, sex, love, tattoos, feminism, friends from different backgrounds, basic autonomy over my body and life) and slowly, every person who had once cherished me when I was litte, now either objectified me or looked at me with disappointment and shame in their eyes

For me, growing up meant realizing the beautiful realm I lived in as a child was actually a rotten reality

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My bingo

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This magazine, produced by the witnesses clearly state that victims in abusive relationships SHOULD STAY IN THE MARRIAGE AND SEE IT OUT CAUSE MAYBE YOUR SPOUSE WILL TURN TO GOD AND BECOME PEACEFUL. They even interview a couple that "used" to be abusive and toxic and the woman says that her husband almost killed her and threatened to do the same to their son! But she stayed married to him and after *finding the truth* the husband has changed and now they have a happy marriage.

FUCK THIS

VIOLENCE IS NEVER ACCEPTABLE IN ANY RELATIONSHIP

If you are stuck in an abusive marriage and you're scared to leave because Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the only motive for divorce is adultery let me tell you, your safety is the most important thing. You deserve to be safe and feel love in a marriage. God is not cruel like this, he would want you to be cherished and not abused.

Here are some domestic abuse hotlines for anyone in need 💗

(USA)

National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233

(United Kingdom)

Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline phone: 0808 200 0247

(South Africa)

Tears *134*7355

And a website that contains tons of international hotline numbers

https://www.mysticmag.com/psychic-reading/domestic-violence-resource-guide/

Stay safe everyone 💕

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Some keep the Sabbath going to Church- (236)

By Emily Dickinson

Some keep the Sabbath going to Church –

I keep it, staying at Home –

With a Bobolink (songbird) for a Chorister –

And an Orchard, for a Dome –

Some keep the Sabbath in Surplice –

I, just wear my Wings –

And instead of tolling the Bell, for Church,

Our little Sexton – sings.

God preaches, a noted Clergyman –

And the sermon is never long,

So instead of getting to Heaven, at last –

I’m going, all along.

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Omg I love this sm