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So very thankful that I can call John/John/Mark/Janis/Rex/Michael and so on, my friends.
Party on guys and gals, it's just now beginning to get better and better. God love to you all!
"...make sure she savors the simple things in life in her journey and to make those count."
Good advice, John.
Profound and so true. What popped into my mind when I read that part was the famous 1964 Bob Dylan lyric from My Back Pages ......sing it with me baby boomers....."I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now".
John, I missed that early simple era when, I believe, things were more genuine at its core. By 1974 when I came along with thousands upon thousands per year to follow it was Dr. Wierwille, thank you very much, the "Man of God of the World, a title I am not sure he cared for and placed upon him by the ever increasing zeal of youthful and sometimes wayward commitment, thereby planting the seeds of legalism to follow, which would grow at a snails pace choking all in its path. (Hows that for some metaphor?)
Anyway, I am glad you chimed in here as one who was from those early days when things were quite different than what later groups may have experienced. But I believe there was great learning and good benefits to be had at both ends of the spectrum.
Today I sat down and hand wrote a letter to my daughter in Boston. Just pen and ink, envelope and all. It was fun. It had been years since I did that. Among other things I advised her to make sure she savors the simple things in life in her journey and to make those count. It seems in the greater scheme of things, those are what we remember most and what seem to affect us most.
Like cooking hamburgers (Janis). Or being in some isolated farm in Ohio on a Saturday night around a campfire in the quiet woods listening to a man called VP (John) with a bunch of close knit young friends from all over the country, attempting to better our lives and better the world. Priceless!
We've had some good exchanges over the years, Hope, Janet, yourself and I. Along with many others I think that describes how Janet and I see this overall topic. The analogy of the glass of water - half full or half empty - comes to mind. I like to joke that I'm really a pessimistic optimist. Long ago I realized that indeed the "glass" is always half full in this life. There's always more to learn, more to do, more to be, etc. etc. (no big illumination but more a slow burn of reality's candle) It's not rocket science - an abundance of life as full as what I read described in the bible requires a critical component to fully realize it and enjoy it - time, duration. Over time the seasons change, the ups and downs occur. Kinda corny sounding but even as I acknowledge what I still would describe as "the greatness of God's Word" and it's realities the realization of it is too big, too much, too large to act upon in a single moment. In this life I can only do what I can do, now, this time. A degree of patience and understanding will allow us to enjoy life's goodness.
Along the lines of what the Bible says, my version: "When it rains, everybody gets wet". Much of this life is what we make of it. I may shield myself from it to stay dry, someone else welcome it to their ground, still another catch it and store it. Much of life is ours to manage and therein lies the lesson - manage as best we can, choose and choose wisely with the expectation that that glass can go either way. : )
When I first met "Dr. Weirwille" he was "VP". The Way Nash was "The Farm". The "believers" were friends and family. "Researching the Bible" was simply reading it and seeing what it sounded like when allowed to speak. God was Someone to know and come to with an open heart - not an "I already know" heart but one that followed Jesus Christ, The Way, The Truth, The Life, the path whose life showed me to God.
Today I know more than I did then but the simple realities haven't changed and the more I know, the less I'm aware I really know. I wouldn't change knowing this one thing however - that my life (with all of it's failings and faults) is better now than what I could have imagined all those years ago. For that I'm forever grateful and will be at the top of my list of "things to do" everyday: *Remember to say "thank you, God".
"So I thank God for the Way, because I would not have friends all over the world who I can chat/talk to and even visit once in a while...I am so amazed!"
That's kinda what I was trying to say above in my weak attempt.
We know an unsually large amount of friends from all over. And many of them we know well. We can sit and talk as if we just were at last years Corps week or Rock of Ages.
Some of our friends have said "How is it you guys know so many people from all over the dang place?" We usually tell them...."It's a long story". But the ones we have told it to in detail almost inevitably say...."Sounds like it would have been fun" or "I would have liked that". One friend simply said.."I wish I had been there."
The good far outweighs the bad IMO. That's all. (Not to discount or deny the bad.)
Lifelong friends and aquaintences...pretty awesome indeed.
I ain't never taking this site down. Even though NING has decided to charge me $50 a month for this and all other formerly free sites.
Grateful here! No real regrets for my involvement in TWI starting in 1974 and lasting until 2000. No more than, I might have had in life without TWI.
Having stayed "in" so long we saw many facets and changes. Some good, some bad. For me it is impossible to play "what if." I was a mess when I got involved in TWI as a "kid". I, too, might not have lived much longer. Or would I have? I think I can never really know.
It is not so simple for me to say IF I had not done ______ (fill in the blank), THEN I would be _________ (fill in the blank.) I do not like to speculate in life (or with stocks). I believe life is not so black and white sometimes.
I liked PFAL, Most people did. It helped thousands, errors notwithstanding. And I liked the man, his errors notwithstanding. So sue me.
I have participated in hundreds of discussions on other sites about the man and about TWI. I have heard it all and discussed it all. There is nothing you could run by me that would shock me. To be sure there were issues and problems. But It feels good to hear alternative positive opinions in a discussion like this. I can and have discussed both sides with the best of them in detail. Things have been discussed TO DEATH. (Insert your own analogy here.)
Being an optimist at heart, I no longer have any interest in having extended discussions about a man or a ministry or a person unless it is private or unless it is positive and general if made public on this site. Repeat..."on this site". There are other sites where you may wish to analyze and disect our multifaceted experiences in TWI. Those sites can and do serve a purpose for some people. There are those who need to talk and vent and discuss. I sure did! Now I do not.
I am a glass half full, water under the bridge kind of guy, as Rex stated, which is one of the primary reasons for my starting this site. I wanted a different approach. One which leaves out the bloat and stays stupidly simple. Not an easy task, given out backgrounds.
Head buried in sand? No.
Apologist? No.
Unaware of issues and harms that may have occurred? No.
Happy to know and make aquaintences with some of the greatest people I have ever met in my life and who went through some of the same unique experiences as we did. YES. Priceless in my opinion!
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