[finallyprettyokay]

Aron:

Thank you for sharing with us. What a great story --- God is amazing, huh?

I totally agree with your conclusions. I think so many of us came into the LC because there was some family-ness to it. I sometimes think it compared to a commune (the hippie way), only on the straight and narrow. I certainly needed that. And I needed the straight and narrow. I think even the strictness of all the 'rules' and peer pressure was a good thing. Like you, like many of us, I had come from a history of a lot of drug use, and all the things that go with that life. So feeling clean, being clean, was so good for me. I think it saved my sanity, if not my life.

So, I don't think coming to the LC was so bad. I do think I overstayed it's usefulness. At some point it became damaging to me, not healing. Well, to be honest, there was always an amount of damaging-ness to it. When I saw the 'brothers' come in from their 'elders' meeting, something in me was always offended by that. I just never thought Jesus was behind that sort of caste system. Big shots, little shots. And my husband and I were part of that inner group --- still, in my heart of hearts, I knew it was wrong.

Anyway, I think I just overstayed it's usefulness, it's healing time for me. Stayed 10 years, 2 or 3 would have been good.

And this, that you said I disagree with the characterization of 'christianity' as 'degraded'. Everything on this earth is degraded. Only God is pure.. Yeah, only God is pure. And we can find Him in all sorts of places. I wrote lots about this in another thread, so I won't belabor the point. But, yeah, only God is pure.

Thanks, aron.