I've noticed several people on this board (including me!) kinda feel like, "Well, I've talked about the Assembly to death, and don't feel like airing anything at the moment, so what now?"
What now, indeed?
How about the rest of our lives?
What are you doing today?
I've been married 10+ years to an exceptionally wonderful guy. We couldn't have any kids, and I'm not sorry...I was too sick to be able to raise kids. God is good, and He knew. I am finally going back to the Catholic Church, but also hanging out at this delightful little Protestant church as well. While my theology is definitely Catholic, I used it to cope with my really awful childhood and that has left scars. There are weekends I simply cannot go to Mass. This church (the Protestant one) trips no triggers and doesn't make me want to run screaming. I've told them I'm Catholic and have no intention of ever joining. They have no intention of converting me (stated or unstated as far as I can tell) and are just happy to see me whenever I choose to drop in.
I believe that I am permanently disabled from my chronic illness (as in not being able to work, that's about it) but am living a very full and happy life. My current addiction is making jewelry, and I've gotten very good at that. I also do some web and graphic design, but in general, I'm trying to figure out now how I can serve God.
I am very grateful to be alive and to be a 1% chance come true.
Who else wants to report in?
I live in Boone, NC since 1995. I work at Samaritan's Purse in the computer department. We are involved in a C&MA church, one of the larger ones in Boone. My main interest and involvement is in a recovery ministry called Celebrate Recovery (
www.CelebrateRecoveryBoone.com). I think this has helped me more with my Christian growth and support than any church I had been in.
As for writing on the bulletin board - I found that when I left the one true church in 1990, that it was very important for me to talk over and over again and process the things that happened. We used to meet in living rooms of ex-members and talk for hours. Then after several years, I no longer found the need to talk about it. The things of my past didn't make me angry. In fact, I could laugh at the silliness of things I used to believe. There are still occasional triggers (I recently unloaded on another blog about a piece on of George Muller and imulating his spirituality - empty of any will, ignore feelings - to obtain answers to prayer) but for the most part, I have new friends, perspectives, experiences, feelings, aspirations, etc. For goodness sake, I have been out of the Assembly longer than I have been in.
As for sharing personal stories of the future, I have a men's group and local friends and community I do that with. I don't need to share my life story, struggles and progress on the internet with people I barely remember. A few folks (namely Mark C and the Irons) feel a call from God to make it a ministry to help folks with abusive church experiences. May God bless their efforts but I don't have such a call. But again, as folks move further and further away from the day the Assembly crashed and they moved on their life, made healthy relationships and identified wrong thinking, the less there is a need to go back and talk with people from their past.
I check every now and then to see if an interesting conversation developed but more often than not, there isn't.
I know you struggle with your health so an electronic board may have to be a substitute for real people. Nevertheless, I find God speaking in the conversation of real people much more than I will ever find on a bulletin board discussion. I would have to believe that your church would have some place where community can be found. I am becoming more and more of the opinion that there is nothing greater than having an honest, open conversation with another struggling sinner in person (telephone as a second choice) to uplift your spirits and cause you to feel closer to God. As Bonhoffer said, "the Christ in my brother is stronger than the Christ in me".
-Dave
