In Reply to: Re: i can see that.. posted by Jo on February 12, 2005 at 12:03:21:
when we left, we were pretty much on our own. an old friend, exmember, helped us find a little florida cinderblock house to rent. we got by doing odd jobs (emphasis on ODD!)foodstamps,etc, until we finally stumbled into a small business we slowly built up to support us. it was a challenge, but, hey, 21 yrs in the fam. you get used to it! the worst part was our disunity (tho at least we had each other to yell at!), and the terrible sense of not knowing what God was doing in our lives. (my kids might add dad's very patchwork philosophy of child rearing... cross ayatollah khomenei w/ barney fife during one of his meltdowns...)
both my wife and i had been raised catholic, and had really loved Jesus as children, rebelled as teens, and then met the family. much of our formative years in the group were on pioneer fields w/ little oversight. i think our sense of his direct involvement in our lives results from years of seeking his guidance and provision on our own, studying scripture itself a great deal, experiencing answered prayer, some remarkable protection etc.
of course things took a dramatic left turn in the late 70's for us... if only the "eternal sunshine of a spotless min" really worked. think of all the business exfamily members alone would generate!
sorry for my predeliction for the sarcastic and ironic. i'm afraid this habit predates the family... wish i could blame it on the cult!