In Reply to: aren't you exaggerating here? posted by lydia on November 19, 2004 at 22:27:45:
In answering I divide things up, starting with citing Acheick to show how & where I interpreted things:
"Most of the posters here know that I have relations in TF. This weighs quite heavily on my heart. I now have 5 grandchildren growing up in this environment and my husband has one with no doubt many more to follow. This is no light matter to me.
It is very devastating to me to see things move in a different direction than what I worked so long and hard for and for other elements to put pressure on swaying it as they wish and not what is best, IMO.
But I am not happy for all the wonderful people I have met and for all those I communicate with who are eager to move on with their lives but cannot find a cyber venue that will help facilitate that. Maybe in the future I can find some fortitude to start up another site, but I am not sure I have that at this point.
We are still in a battle, but the battle is between right and wrong, good and evil, God and anti-God. I may have been mad at God when I first left the F. and it took me many years to overcome that."
Sorry; Lydia..may be I am reading too much between the lines???I respect A. greatly...however tend to think, that sometimes her wishes for others, if not fulfilled could tend to make her
upset...I have been mad at God for sooo many times, that I am ashamed to say it, however I always knew, that He knows best, that's
a "good relict" of TF...simply because it's biblical(Romans 8:28 was even my selfchosen confirmationverse in then Lutheran church)...I read Acheicks comments as if she wanted the boards to be so inspiring & uplifting, that it would even be attrative to believing TFers on the move, helping even those on the verge out of TF.My bad, if I misinterpreted.However, if I assumed right, then I stick to my guns...After all, it'd be up to the posters here & elsewhere, to make it more "inspiring"...of course as a Christian, you get "flak" from non-believers. TG, you should be fairly "save" on journeys to say what you want.
Frankly, I don't know, what Acheick really wants.
I could immagine some improvements here: e.g. the
possibility to email to an exer via the short biography of all the posters, a very neat function of Jules at
movingon...also with the poss. of loading pics etc.
So, apparently A.s loved ones aren't yet convinced to leave & a similar concern you also read every now & then at moving on...all very human...I'd react the same.
However, I know from my own life, that very hard arguing just triggered the opposite in me, so I needed some more time in "breaking", becoming more fertile (Mt.13)
Second part.
Now I respond a bit to your recent answer:
Of course my questions were rhetoric hyperbole, it's sometimes needed, to show, where ultimately the thread, the train of thought winds up at...Lydia is in this case exchangeable with any name of anyone living on the face of the earth.
So by no means, I meant to get insulting or too personal...just wanting to stress very hard, that we don't know, what's best.
Could be, that sometimes we should struggle harder, Daniel was praying & fasting & it took time for the answer, battles involved...so I think
help is often on the way & sometimes we need more prayer & fasting....but may be less arguing...that's what I infered. A. said it's a battle between right & wrong...how could I disagree...The weapons of that warfare are spiritual however & TF made mighty spiritual mistakes, being so blinded by the angel of light
(2.cor.11:14), that they think they live at the
spearhead of Christianity.You cannot unmask that,
without using lots of scripture.
That's why I stressed, that the exers also have to get right with God.Some people leave may be like Demas of old, loving this world, others always wanted to serve the Lord & got stuck there, so only the Word & probably some intervention, bad events, could stop them from being in TF.
By the way, I never said, that you should sit around doing nothing, as far as the developments, right or wrong, of our precious children is concerned.I just meant, that there comes a time, where you exhausted a theme, you gave it your all in arguing against something, you believe wholeheartedly is wrong, you prayed etc. & then you h a v e to let go & let God.Like the old church saying, that you have to leave something up to the Holy Spirit.I read in between the line, that A. is working hard (talking about a battle..)
to convince her loved ones...I was on soapbox & elsewhere several times in heavier arguments with A....in a way it was a nice challenge, but I also
thought, she clings to some things, as if it were for life & I am only doing that in regards to the Gospel, the name of Jesus...the rest has to fit in, hard as it may be...
Again my point was: to speak up to anyone,about what we perceive as the right thing, obviously foremost towards our loved ones, offering also the most possible help...good, how you also stress that...is naturally good & not to remain silent
(But there comes a time, when He speaks so loud -
or with a still small voice - that it's far better than all our talk, much better, as the heaven is higher than the earth, simple as that)
As God is more loving & "skilled" than us, we should also rest assured, that He knows best & obviously we continue to pray for people...there shouldn't be any shortage in that.
So I guess, I pretty much agree with you!!? : )