The difference..

[motherof2]

Well, i have been reading and researching here for a few days now and i have come to several realizations. The first thing I feel is trememdous pride for a father who never really amounted to much by the worlds standards. My dad...a job-hopper, a former pastor of very small churches, a bus driver now. He comes from a family of wealth, affluence, and very strong emotional ties to one another...a good family. My grandfather is a legacy..a business owner, a millionaire, a prominent influence in the city where he lived. A man, my dad worshipped.. kind of... and in some ways still does. My dad talked to his dad every day and hung on every word that came from his mouth. ALL six of my grandfathers kids have idolized him. My dad being the weakest one in a lot of ways. He loved his brother and sisters very much. Well, my uncle (dads bro) got into drugs an alcohol and rebellion pretty bad and that broke the family's heart..he disappeared for a while. But one day he came back..and when he did my grandparents were overjoyed..he had exciting news..He had found God in The Way. Because their was such a change in him, it moved my grandparents into checking it out..and they were hooked. My grandparents wanted desperately for my dad to join them and the other 5 kids in The Way. My dad..this is what makes me so proud..said no. To his dad, the man he respected and wanted approval from more than anyone else on the earth...he smelled a rat. He kept us out, he eventually had to move us 3000 miles from them entirely..they continued to write letters, ridicule, pressure. My dad kept us away through the years that they were heavily involved. I never understood..why couldnt we live by grandma and grandpa? Why couldnt i live by my cousins..now i get it. NOW I GET IT!!! And i couldnt be prouder. My grandfather died of cancer...young. (i do wonder with all that negative believing stuff, who my aunts and uncles blamed it on) hopefully not themselves. My dad had to miss out on the last decade and a half of being near his dad..but i dont think hes sorry and i know i am not...anymore. All of my aunts and uncles married in the way..they all went wow..i dont know the details because they are secretive but i know they were advanced in the system..some may still be in..all are pretty loyal yet to vpw and lcm.

My dad, is driving a bus somewhere today..he doesnt even know that he is my Hero..just the way he is. And how grateful i am to him..but i am going to tell him..He made a big difference..

I love you all...i ache for the pain that you have endured..i grieve for you.. that your experience wasnt pure like mine..That you have to heal from this..I ache for my relatives who still do not know..right from wrong. but mostly i am so Proud of every one of you who has made it out and have the courage to tell about it.

[rascal]

Wow WHAT a testimony to your father!

How fortunate for all of you that he was so strong. You can bet the pressure to join would have been intollerable, the pain of being ostracised deep.

It would have been the most difficult thing in the world to not give in to the pressure to follow loved ones.

What a great man, hat`s off to your father!!

[waysider]

Motherof2---------You are probably too young to have heard the old adage:"You can't judge a book by its' cover" but it would seem from your post that you have experienced it for yourself. Your father sounds like a man you can be proud to call your Dad. :)

[polar bear]

Thanks for sharing that. Your dad was a good man. He made the right decison. Sometimes you need to get away from control freaks.

[potato]

motherof2, I echo what the rest said. I myself can't imagine the pressure your dad was put under to join, and I've seen it in action... but from an entire family of the size of yours, unfathomable. he is indeed a strong man.

[Sunesis]

That is a wonderful testimony to your father. You should show him what you wrote. The strength it must have taken not cave into the pressure his family must have put on him and face being left out of the family's "inner circle" of "likeminded" believers.

You have a great dad there!

[pond]

Im a mother of more than two.. and ive had some hard calls in my life .

many of the choices i made was for my kids and how it would be for them growing up.

they are grown and NOTHING in life gives me more peace of mind and warm fuzzy for being alive than when they come to me and say "thank you mom for this" talking about a choice that was tough at the time.

please for the love of all loving parents everywhere , tell him what you told us.

[TheHighWay]

Wow, Motherof2, what a great post!!

I hope you let your dad know asap that you now "get it" and thank him for his sacrifice. He clearly did the right thing (the hard thing) for his family. What a good man.

You made my day.

THW

[waterbuffalo]

Gosh, that's so great! Is there anyway you could make that into a Christmas card or birthday card to your dad and listing the reasons you admire him so much? I'll bet, as someone else said, it would be a teriffic boost for your dad to hear how much you love and respect him. I sent my aunt a birthday card once saying I never knew when her birthday was but wanted to tell her how much all of the birthday cards she had sent me my entire life had meant to me. She was thrilled and it meant a lot to her. Your dad would probably love to hear that he is YOUR hero.

[Watered Garden]

Thank you SO MUCH for your post! It sounds to me like your dad is the wealthiest member of the family! Rich in love, rich in wisdom, rich in caring.

Please let him know about these posts and how right he was to not get involved.

WG