Long Lost Friend

I just got back in contact with one of the best friends I've ever had. I haven't seen her in over 10 years. I've only talked to her maybe 6 times since I saw her. Since we met in Barstow, CA, our relationship lasted only 6 months before she moved across the country to New York.
But yes, she is my friend. And after all this time apart, it's amazing to find how similar we still are.

Here's the story.
I grew up in Barstow, California. When I was about 11, a woman moved into our congregation with a daughter a little older than I and a son, about 4 years old. My mother became good friends with this woman and I became great friends with her daughter. We grew closer for the six months she was there (we just figured out it was only six months, it had felt like alot longer). Then, it seemed, all the sudden one day she was gone. The mother moved back with her husband in New York, whom she had been separated from.

A few years later, my family moved to New York. A few years went by before I remembered her and realized she live in the same state as we now lived in. At that time, my mother had the mother's phone number and we commenced on another short exchange of letters and phone calls.
She got married and somehow we lost contact again. I left the life I knew and it too a good five years to realize what I had to in order to be happy.
About a month ago I started searching for her again. Her last name had changed and I had no way of finding her, it appeared. Then, someone reminded me that a brother in our congregation was from upstate. I asked the brother if he knew the last name and it turned out he knew her uncle and got me her information two weeks later.
I called her last Sunday and left a message. She called me that Wednesday, which was perfect timing and let me explain why.
My husband and I had been growing slowly apart for a reason unknown to me. Some unknown sense told me something was wrong. I had been reminded by the elders in the congregation that my husband should be my best friend. It was a thought I'd never really thought before. I was his wife, wasn't I? But I had been longing for a close friend that I had more in common with, it seemed he didn't get me. And just before I got in contact with my friend, Dave and I worked it all out. We're okay again, thanks to Jehovah.

Back to the subject, my friend and I are exactly the same as the 10+ years ago, except we're both married. Both into singing/guitar, art, the Truth... and we both care for eachother as we always did. Nothing has changed, not even our voices it seems.

And in what other world would I have been able to find her, what other organization in the world would 2 friends find eachother and still be on the same page, as it were. I'm so glad that she is still with Jehovah. I'm getting blessed right and left the more I do for Him. Happiness being the greatest blessing of all. And this week's Watchtower study? Magnificent. He certainly watches over his people.

And so begins another adventure. Awesome.

-T

A Perfect Example of the Secret of a Successful Marriage

It never ceases to amaze me how much being close to Jehovah can change your personality. I expected myself to react to a recent situation like my mother always did with everything dramatic: Explode and attack with a lecture fueled by fear and passion. Not only that, but it was something that I knew I was right about and being lied to about and yet...I didn't even think of saying I told you so. Nor did I rub the mistake in his face.
I, in fact, shouldered part of the blame from Jehovah's point of view. A wife should respect her husband, no matter how hard it can be to do so. And I hadn't been, which led to part of the problem. I humbled myself, and even though I have a natural instinct to react impulsively when it involves me being lied to, I calmly talked and listened. This had great effectiveness.
And if it hadn't been for that prayer to Jehovah to help me act the way I should, I NEVER would have handled that right. But I did. And I'm proud of it and have only Jehovah to thank. Now we can go on from here together, instead of being enemies, as I know happens most of the time in the world. Pitiful and not surprising without Jehovah.
Seriously. For me, a successful marriage would be impossible without Him. And I am in NO way exaggerating. Everyone in the world that knew me previously is surprised it even lasted this long. Maybe one day they'll actually get curious enough to find out why...

-T

The Vicious Cycle and The Importance of Imagination

First of all, I think it's really freaky that you have "followers" on this site. I feel like I started a cult. I love to write however, and even though I never considered a keyboard and a screen as authentic as a paper and a pen, it'll have to do, because it's much faster and I shant have the time in the future.

I've got a lot of work to do and it really stresses me out. Well, stress is one thing, it's a totally different issue when you have to deal with severe depression as well. Then, you start thinking about all the things you have to do and you want to do them right at that moment, but it's impossible and it happens all the time and you get overwhelmed and you feel like a failure because you are doing nothing right at that second. Then, you just want to lie there and continue to do nothing, wishing you didn't have to go through it all. I love run-on sentences.

A normal person, of course, would do something like make a list and a schedule of when they were going to do these tasks then, do them accordingly. So, that's what I'm going to do. Thank goodness for my imagination. It was well developed as a child in a California desert and has served me well in the matter of empathy and cases as the one seen above. Imagining what a "normal" person would do has saved me many times.

My depression is not going to get the best of me today. Hooray. Alright. Time to do things....

I'll never get tired of watching this. The mom's like, "WHAT WAS THAT?? Oh, it's you."