subject: When Does It All Start For You? An Awakening [print this page] Childhood is such an interesting time in all of our lives. It can be fun and full of wonder. Childhood consists of an immeasurable amount of first times. Just a few of these would be learning your role within your family, dealing with siblings, friendships, religion, rejection, sadness, and constantly trying to figure out what the point of all of this is. For the most part events are taken in and enjoyed; others are confusing and sad. Even though we experience these emotions we may not understand why we are sad or confused. Being exposed to a variety of life situations helps us to understand these feelings over time and make more sense of them.
My folks became Jehovah's Witnesses when I was in the first grade. I enjoy writing about these times and the experiences that I had growing up within the religion. I believe that through my experiences others will find them to be interesting and be able to draw strength from realizing they are not alone. I have a blog where all of these articles can be viewed.This is a continuation of the last one titled, "When Does It All Start for YouAn Introduction". There were three girls that I met at school. One of the guidelines that Jehovah's Witnesses encourage followers to abide by is associating only with those that are part of the religion. In time my parents had allowed me to get together with these girls outside of school and we took turns having sleepovers. When it came time for them to be at my house I was very worried that it wouldn't go over well. Unfortunately my worries were accurate.
I never had the girls over to my house again. I didn't get together with them outside of school on a regular basis; they all did because they lived by one another. Jehovah's Witnesses met regularly during the week and on the weekends so I was always busy with this schedule. I enjoyed school very much because I looked forward to the time that I was able to spend with them all there. We were all bused to a different school for the ninth grade. The three of us had some classes together and would see each other at lunch.
Life took a bit of a twist this school year. Kelly's older brother was killed in a motorcycle accident in their neighborhood. He was speeding on a residential street and collided with a neighbor's car. It goes without saying that Kelly was devastated. We all tried the best we could to comfort her. I felt helpless. I had not dealt with the loss of an immediate family member before and the beliefs that Jehovah's Witnesses held on death were not comforting to her at all. I couldn't blame her one bit; the beliefs would not have comforted me if I was in her position. Who wants to hear that their loved one is just asleep in death awaiting a resurrection? The Witnesses view this as so much more comforting then someone going to purgatory, hell, or even going to heaven. They believe that heaven is only reserved for 144,ooo individuals to rule as kings and priest, not for everyone. Death is hard enough for adults to understand and deal with let alone a teenager. Beth was the one who seemed to be the closest to Kelly; I felt that Kelly let Beth in emotionally. It was obvious to me that Kelly struggled at school for quite some time.
Towards the end of our ninth grade year I started to become more and more saddened because that would be the last school year that we would all be together. Those three were going to a different high school than me. Not only would I be going to a new school but also without my buddies. I took everyday in and cherished it. We kept in contact once we started high school but the times we actually got together were very limited.
I was fifteen years old when I met a girl named Michelle. She was the daughter of a couple that my parents were very good friends with. Her father and step mother were Jehovah's Witnesses. We hit it off. She was a year older than me and we had a blast together. This was the first time that I had a girl friend that was one of Jehovah's Witnesses. She had lived with her mother up to that point. She had been around the religion when she would come and visit her father but she was not raised within the religion. I never asked her what had happened between her and her mother. Not only did she leave her mother's place to move in with her father but also completely changed her lifestyle becoming a Witness.
Looking back I'm surprised that I never did talk to her about that but when we got together it was about having fun. We got along great and my parents liked her too. We became inseparable. I finally had a friend that was my age, fun, and interested in doing the same things that I was doing within the religion. Michelle happened to go to the same high school that Beth, Kelly, and Renee went to. She didn't hang around with them but it was neat for me to know that they all knew of each other. During the week we would see each other at the meetings and on the weekends we would sometimes be together for the field ministry. Jehovah's Witnesses go door to door as many people are aware of. This is referred to as the field ministry or going out in service. Depending on my mother's mood and my parent's plans, we would try to get together and spend the night at one of our homes.
Looking back it seems now that this time of my life was the beginning of an awakening for many of us. I had learned that I was afraid of death and was surprised that the religion I had grown to love offered no real comfort on that subject. Was that the religions fault or was it that in my young mind death didn't add up? Kelly needed to face death and try to make sense out of how unfair it can be. She needed to learn how to pick up the pieces of loss and get herself ready for school everyday. Beth was learning how to be a pillar of strength to her childhood friend. She was becoming a source of courage; the one to figure out how to pick up the pieces of loss and move forward everyday. Michelle had experienced something in her young life that made her leave her mother's home, a home that she had grown up in for sixteen years, and completely change her lifestyle to live with her father. When does it all start for you? What were the first times for you that started to mold who you are today?
Go now to my website. This website provides information on products that became a true blessing to my family and I. My blog has articles that have been written surrounding these products and also of my early years as one of Jehovah's Witnesses. Please leave comments or feedback! Any questions you may have you can contact me through my email. Cheers To You!
