Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Those Who Sow

“There is no such thing as a 'self-made' man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind deed for us, or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered into the make-up of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.”
-George Matthew Adams-



A few posts back, I posted the previous quote and a "Tell Your Tale" offer.
A read responded with this wonderful account:

Our son, raised in the cult from the age of 18 months, helped us out after he went to UCLA, got into the theology library and got delivered. He was excommunicated, of course. Like good cult zombies, we withdrew our financial support from him at first, but at the same time pleaded and argued with the cult leader to reverse the excommunication. Our son was forgiving and persistent. He wrote us letters, sent us books, and planted enough seeds of doubt and truth that we left six months later, being pretty much forced out for not agreeing with the leadership.
Margaret Irons

http://geftakysassembly.com/




God bless those who persevere to sow seeds of freedom.

mustard seed faith by: annben02 in photobucket

3 comments:

provender said...

That is a hopeful story. I had pretty much decided to give up on my friends remaining in our abusive church. Maybe I should rethink that.

Meg said...

When I posted my account I didn't think of it in relation to your preceding quote. Looking at it now in that context, isn't it amazing that our son entered into the make-up of the "character, thoughts and success" of his parents! He is a special guy...

"Provender", don't give up on your friends. If they will still talk to you, keep in touch. You may be the only person they know who is knowedgeable about their situation. On our website we recommend Steve Hassan's book, "Releasing the Bonds: Empowering People to Think for Themselves". It is geared primarily toward those who have friends or loved-ones in a destructive group. It emphasizes the importance of staying in contact with the person, and offers a method to help awaken them to the pervasiveness of the group's control over their life.

The Cult Next Door said...

Thanks for the encouraging words- it has helped strengthen my prayers for those left behind.