Hi all,
I don't really have anyone to share my experiences with, so thanks for giving an ear.
Going backwards,
Much of my immediate family is in offshoots of some kind. One of them is pretty isolated and seems to have lost a bit of his sanity being faithful to the Word. He only goes to meetings once a month. Another two others run "fellowships." They tell me about how great it is that their new people are speaking in tongues. I cringe inside but smile and pretend to share their joy. The only other one is into more new age religion and knows its all nuts. She got hooked on painkillers after breaking away at fifteen.
I left a couple years back, but things have been tough. I was raised to be a hardcore believer - homeschooled and all - and shied away from "the world" as best I could. I wish I had watched more TV though, it would be nice to be more in tune with pop culture now. I moved a lot after I left my parents house. I did splinter-group training, and though I'm now glad that I never "spread the Word" all that well, I hate how rude and insensitive I was for those years. I wish I could live without knowing that others probably took at least some of my "teachings" to heart and were worse off for it.
Ah, life goes on, I suppose. Mines not so simple as I wish it was though.
I'm still a social missfit, but I'm glad I can still chat with my old "believer" friends, and the real world makes more sense as the months go bye. Workaholism seems to help me keep my mind of things, at least for now.
Glad you all are here, let me know if you want to chat.
-FreeFall