In Reply to: Re: Nostalgia posted by JWH on September 27, 2008 at 15:29:10:
I don't and I don't think anyone should feel condemned about being in TF. There is no advantage of anyone living in regret. For sure there were good experiences in TF along with bad. What I like to do is take all the experiences and use them as learning experiences. When speaking with people about cults I am able to speak from experience, been there done that. It is something from my past that have life lessons for me that I can pass on to others. I can say the same of my former drug usage. No regrets,"maybe except getting hep-c), but even that was a catalyst for me going into the ministry. I see TF as something God used to get me from perhaps point A to point B or perhaps a number of points. My life's past experiences can be summed up in a scripture which I use as part of my signature in one of my email accounts. It is Isaiah 49:16 which I like from the Amplified version of the Bible:
16Behold, I have indelibly imprinted (tattooed a picture of) you on the palm of each of My hands; [O Zion] your walls are continually before Me.
This scripture for me sums up how the Lord has His hands on our lives individually through the good,bad, and the ugly.He knows us, even how many hairs we have on our head. That is an awesome thought knowing that our God knows how many hairs each person in the world has on their head.