An angry open letter to my former "leadership"

[Digger]

I have no idea why this came to me so urgently in the middle of the night, to get me out of bed to express myself, and maybe Paw will remove this thread as soon as he sees it, but its been building up inside me for years and it needs to be expressed.

Ten yeas ago, I fell in love - head over heels, bounce off the ceiling in love - it was wonderful, the best I'd felt in years - when I told my coorinators about it, DM & DM (you know who you are - in the middle of PA - for shame!!!) , a few days later I was called to a "counseling" meeting by my branch coordinaors LL and DL - they told us that to be successful in our upcoming marriage we (1) could not have sex until our marriage, (2) we could not attend any fellowhips till we were married, and (3) nobody at the Way cound attend.

Aftr 20 years in the Way, it was evastating! Those who I'd felt closest too have not only shunned me, but told me in no uncertain terms that I ddn't deserve to feel love, that sex was wrong, and that I was an idiot for doing anything without their consent. Because of their "godly reproof" - their lives fell apart, and I never crossed their threshold again.

Eventually, the marriage DID fall apart, largely because of the seeds planted that horrible night. After 3 years of being alone, yss, I've grown bitter. Shame on you, DM, DM, LL and DL - your "revelation" was straight from the pit of HELL, a by product of the evil teachings of LCM in the 1990s. Curse you all, and woe unto all who follow after the path of unrighteousness. I will never, never, never let another man tell me that what is right in my heart is wrong before God!

Rise up, oh men of God, proclaim your seat of righteousness - godliness is NOT found in following the wisdom of a man, but the wisdom of the Wod of God and the pure hearted walk with the Father.

To hell with the Way - may the walls of New Knoxville fall and be forgotten as the men of Amalek - may the great men of the Way be regarded as the great men of Sodom - may the teaching of the Way fall only on the ears of the deaf and the blind of spirit - Yeah, verily, righteousness is in the Word of the Lord only -all men have fallen short of His wisdom - and the God and Creator of the universe shall surely root up every bad root and burn the chaff in the fire - Selah

And so, I hope and pray that you all heal from the wicked injuries caused to you by the evil teaching that you have heard, and that you find a merciful and loving God, a God who truely knows your heart and counts the very hairs on your head as precious, and that God himself will redeem the righteous and destroy the wicked - Love you all!!!

[ex10]

(((Digger)))

There is hope! God is in the business of redeeming even the most lost of causes among us.

Love to you, brother.

[ckeer]

(((((Digger))))

you have every right to feel such anger and pain.

I have been healing from my time in TWI.

I wish a speedy and complete deliverance and may God restore unto you a double portion of all you have lost- including an new companion to be the love of you life.

[Zshot]

Digger,

I know what you mean.

I think twi is responsible for preventing marriages that could have been successful. I also believe they are responsible for breaking up good marriages.

[Eaglehouse]

Digger,

So sorry you had to go through this. You're right...LCM's poor leadership spawned off quite a few egotistical, wisdom-less leaders. Now and then a bad memory will wake me out of my sleep with a sick feeling remembering advice or reproof given that was totally void of the spirit of God. Know that you're not alone and that J.C. has carried those burdens for you. Much love, Eaglehouse

[Belle]

Oh ((((((Digger))))))

They took my best friend and life partner, too. Our loved ones are so deceived and they honestly think they are doing what God would have them to do, the only problem is that they have confused God with TWI(t) leadership. No matter what I said or do I couldn't convince my husband that I hadn't rejected God, but the false prophets and evil men and seducers of TWI. By the end of our marriage he was calling me an unbeliever.

Not a day doesn't go by that I don't think about him and how much I love him and how sorry I feel for him. I know it's his choice to believe their lies and ignore what I tried to show him. He decided to cut off all communication with me and refuse to listen to what I had to say and show him, but it doesn't make him the horrible person in my eyes, it just shows how much power we can give people over our lives. He has given up so much in the name of TWI thinking it represented God. My heart aches for him, for you and for all of us with pieces of our lives destroyed by this group of wolves.

I do believe that God will replace what the locusts have destroyed. I have to. Thanks for sharing your heart with us.

Belle

[Nottawayfer]

((((Digger))))

My heart and prayers are with you. I am sorry you had to put up with that kind of treatment. It is completely and totally wrong.

[waterbuffalo]

Oh, (((((((Digger)))))))

I love you. We all do here.

Ditto to all the fine words of comfort posted here for you and for us all especially about Jesus carrying that burden for you. Just give it to him, drop it into his lap. He shows himself strong in our weakness. This one is a constant reminder to myself. Yes. Over and over.

He will restore. One time I demanded that the devil give back what he stole and several months later, it was back (my old job, ha)!

Blessings,

WB

P.S. I like these verses too:

Mark 10:29, 30

Jesus said, Truly I say to you, There is no man who has given up house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother, or father, or children, or land, because of me and the good news,

Who will not get a hundred times as much now in this time, houses, and brothers, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and land--though with great troubles; and, in the world to come, eternal life.

Edited July 13, 2004 by waterbuffalo

[templelady]

((((((((Digger))))))))))

THe pain of what they did to our loved ones is the worst of all

Praying That you find healing and peace

[Digger]

Oh, not to fear - I've started a new life, new home, new friends, and fellowshipping with great believers of God. I think I had to vent last night to finally get a blister that had been sitting under my skin for almost 10 years now. I do appreciate all the encouragement and kind words, and hope if nothing else my words just serve as a warning to any curious minds of the depth of evil that group had gotten to. I love you all too!!!

[outandabout]

It never ceases to amaze me how these people had to meddle in others' lives. What right did they have? Who were they to judge who other people could love?

To think we put up with that crap. Unbelievable.

I'm sorry it happened to you too, Digger. Glad your life has been rebuilding.

[imbus]

Digger,

Thanks for speaking your truth. Very powerful, brother. Thanks for inviting us into to your reality. "A sorrow shared is 1/2 a sorrow. A joy shared is 2 joys". You have a right to be angry and I'm glad you are moving on. Namaste ;)-->

[Eagle]

Digger

Just a word to know how you feel. When I was trying to ask certain women in the Way out a long time ago, other so-called leaders intervened to get them away from me, with no real good reason that I could think of. I lost a lot of good dates back then. After leaving, I had the freedom to date as I chose and married a wonderful and beautiful woman. I hate to say this, but the men who tried to keep me from certain women in the Way, well, perhaps they did not know as much as they should. Their own marriages all fell apart. I kind of grieve thinking about it because I knew their wives and they were great ladies. I felt bad for them. I've since let go of the bitterness and would like to see those guys again, but they are still in the Way and not allowed to talk to me since I left.

God, Digger, I really felt a lump in my throat reading your letter. It really hit home and got to me. I rarely shed tears but reading your story brought tears to my eyes. I felt so bad for you. But I was thrilled to hear that you are okay.

Eagle

[TheHighWay]

Digger, sweetie...

I wonder sometimes if things come to us in the middle of the night because we have less of a guard up... Thank goodness for a place like this that you can vent and get it out there... in my experience it makes it so much more bearable! You know many of us here have gone through our own kinds of hell at the hands of men... I'm SO sorry you were not an acception.

I'm glad you are moving on with your life. As they say, the best revenge is a life well-lived. Live yours to the fullest!!