My own MC memories with Bill

[MartyMuppets]

I'm so sad to hear about those painful memories and setbacks, Marty...Here are a few big, extra-soft hugs just for you! {{{hug}}} {{{HUG}}} {{{*HUG*!}}}


P.S. to the board owners: It's times like this that we need an "awww!" or "love you!" smiley; using "flirt" has given some of my board buddies the wrong impression.

Marty: Thank you Inga. You're so sweet. HUGGLE HUGGLE HUGGLE right back to you.

But I must add that Bill and I are inclined to agree with you about the term "flirt" used for the Janice smiley. I was initially uncomfortable because of the connotations of that word and at least one of my own board buddies has been slightly unsettled by it at one time that I know of.

 

[MartyMuppets]

Marty: So Bill. Things were going smoothly with my getting used to the computer and everything. I was still considering the possibility of studying further to try for a Diploma of Theology after my Certificate in a year's time after a break, when family friction began to set in.

Bill: Oh dear Marty. What happened?

Marty: Well I was trying to go along to a local gymnasium to look after my health. Things started off great and I was beginning to lose weight. Then when I arrived home one day at 5 in the afternoon after a work out I found my grandmother all cranky with me about being out all day. It happened a couple of times and I was really upset by it. I realize now that she was only worried about me, but at the time it felt like I was being treated as if I were still a child and not old enough to take care of myself.

Bill: That must have been very hard for you.

Marty: You can say that again Bill. But it affected my mother also. Another time she herself gently told me that I shouldn't be out all day either. It was because she knew that Grandmother fretted about me and that worried her. But it was at that point that my faithfulness with the gym became very limited. I had been prepared to gladly run the risk of getting myself bashed and murdered in order to try to build up my muscles and manage my weight. I thought I was doing the sensibly right thing in making sure I was home before the sun had gone down to minimize the chance of meeting foul play. I had made up my mind to not let Grandmother upset me in future. But the unanticipated rebuke from Mother was just too much.

Bill: What sort of effect did this have upon you?

Marty: I stopped putting a wholehearted effort into the gym and only went along every now and then because of the impression the relatives had given me. I wanted to do the exercise but I felt like they didn't really want me to because of their loving concern. Things were made worse by Mum saying I should be looking after my weight. I knew I ought to but I didn't know how to make sense of the circumstances.

Bill: I'm terribly sorry to hear this Marty. You must have suffered such frustration and stress.

Marty: You bet Bill. It was very sad times for me. And then Mum and I started getting into little fights over such small matters. We had a lack of communication problem. I tried to discuss things I had on my mind with her but she just seemed to be in total opposition. When I tried to make a suggestion about something to help sort out a problem we were having it was like she wasn't willing to discuss and debate reasonably. And then when I took matters into my own hands out of desperation she would get angry and upset saying how hurt she was that I never talked about things with her.

Bill: Oh no. What a dreadfully stressful situation you were going through Marty. But what about your Church? Didn't they try to help you?

Marty: I'm afraid I was very disappointed with them Bill. I'll explain that later on.

 

[Winslow Leach]

I'm enjoying this so far, Marty!

Again, this is a very clever way of going about your memories, good and bad. So sorry about your family hardships and tragedies. I hope things get happier as you continue on!

 

[wwfpooh]

Like Tony said, I hope things improve. More please!

 

[D'Snowth]

Boy Mart, this was quite sad to read... I'm glad to see you were in the frame of mind to regularly exercize to manage your weight and all, but I'm sorry that led to your grandmother being cranky about you being out too long, and the eventual friction between you and your mother.

I certainly hope things might get better in your next installment!

 

[wwfpooh]

I certainly hope things might get better in your next installment!

Likewise.

 

[MartyMuppets]

Bill: So Marty. Why were you disappointed in your Church?

Marty: Well Bill. I was so upset that I stopped going to Church. Their Worship services were very early. At 7:30 AM.

Bill: 7:30 AM?

Marty: That's right Bill. Mum and I used to regularly get up to go there early Sunday morning. It really wasn't too hard once you were used to it. But after awhile Mum stopped going due to the pain she suffered with her arthritis more than for any other reason. But I was still a regular and we still did devotional readings together at home. But that was until all the trouble set in and I was so upset I couldn't sleep well at night and I ended up sleeping instead of attending Church and we were so angry with each other we stopped doing our Bible readings like we used to enjoy.

Bill: And what did the Church say to you Marty?

Marty: Nothing I regret to say Bill. Nobody seemed to act like they really missed us. Not one of my fellow Anglicans ever called me on the telephone to say Hello. Nor did any of them come knocking on the door to ask if there was anything wrong that I hadn't been coming to Sunday devotion lately. As time went by I felt as if I'd been disowned after all the years I'd been a faithful Anglican Church person and often helped out by doing things such as reading from the Bible during worship, assisting our clergy with the Communion ceremony, and mowing the Church grounds lawn and watering the garden beds. It really hurt me deeply.

Bill: They never checked up on you ever? And you lived right across the road from the Church building too? That is so disgusting Marty.

Marty: I realize now it wasn't just my case though Bill. A year or so earlier one of my friends started having doubts about his faith and fell away from the Church. Looking back I realize that nobody really made any effort to try to visit him to ask if anything was the matter either, even though I was trying to do my part in witnessing to him when we got together to socialize. It's tragic. Their mentality seems to be that we're your loving Church family as long as you keep coming to us, otherwise good-bye.

Bill: Oh my. What a lot you've gone through my friend.

Marty: There's still more Bill. So then I felt I needed to try looking elsewhere for a Church family. There was a Catholic Church up in the nearby Main Street. I started going to Church there still hoping and praying at first that my own Church would reach out to me in the end. But they didn't. So I decided that God would bless me with the spiritual comfort I needed through a brand new start as a Catholic. So I enrolled and went through the training classes and became a Catholic on 23rd May 2004.

Bill: How did you feel then?

Marty: Happy at the time Bill. I did try to encourage the folk at the Anglican Church to make some pastoral contact with Mum since she was still officially an Anglican but as far as I know nothing was ever done about it at all. I was very disappointed in them. But let me say that I have forgiven them in the Name of the Lord. If I meet any of them downtown I say Hello and bear them no animosity whatsoever.

Bill: That's good to know Marty. Praise God for that. Are you getting up to the time of your joining MC yet? And did things start getting better for you when you joined the Catholic Church?

Marty: My family relationships did begin to get better Bill. I felt God was helping me get on track spiritually again. But I didn't join MC until I moved out of the family home into a rented unit of my own. I'll explain how that transpired next time.

 

[D'Snowth]

EDIT: Never mind.

Can't wait to read more Mart!

 

[wwfpooh]

Can't wait for the next installment.

 

[Ilikemuppets]

Thank you for telling me about this thread Marty! I'm enjoying hearing you're story.