Hi graceandpeace

Welcome to the forum! It’s so good to have you with us. 🙂

I can’t imagine how terrible it was to go through the grief and betrayal of your partner leaving you for your brother. Not to mention the isolation of not having anyone to turn to at the time. That must have been horrific. And then later with the church trying to ‘pray away the gay’ and splitting up your relationship. How do you feel now with just being good friends and house mates with her?

After being hurt by religion so much myself, I don’t want to be religious at all.

How fantastic that you were able to receive this lesson and run with it. It seems to me that you’ve really grown from your experiences in and out of the church. It’s amazing how negative events can teach us about ourselves. Suffering can make us better people if we let it show us our own nature. I can very much relate with this. In my case, the rejection and devastation of being ex communicated, the condemnation around my divorce, feeling displaced with no religion, and later identifying as lesbian, has made me much more compassionate with others. I don’t think I would have gained that level of compassion without those dark times.

Anyway, I’m really glad you found f2b. You are definitely not alone and many people will gain from being able to relate with aspects of your story. I trust you’ll find our forum a supportive space to be.

Blessings,

Ann Maree

After about a year of doing all the ‘right things’ and quoting bible verses like crazy, I continued to struggle with my thoughts, desires and attractions and finally I began to question their doctrines. I began searching for answers online and instead of finding sites about hell and punishment, this time I found sites like Freedom2b.org and I came to believe that the church’s doctrine was wrong and I stopped going. I haven’t been for about six months now. I do miss the friends I made during our 2 1/2 years there. I still believe in God and follow Jesus, and call myself a Christian, but my beliefs are are not as dogmatic and I don’t believe a whole lot of the doctrines I have been taught over the years anymore. I think of myself as a person of faith but not religious. After being hurt by religion so much myself, I don’t want to be religious at all.

Hi graceandpeace,

Thank you for sharing your amazing story with us. The above really resonates with me as I have a similar story of being involved in a fundamentalist religion for many years and struggled with my own thoughts, desires and attractions. I also started questioning the doctrines taught and since leaving that religion have had my mind wonderfully opened towards the opportunities of living a life of serving others without the doctrines and dogma.

Welcome to our/your supportive and safe community.

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Thanks for sharing 🙂

well that was worth waiting for…… :bigsmile: :bigsmile:

what a journey you have been on. I think it was really important to post………there will be many more hiding in the shadows who can relate to much I’m sure.

Reading your story there was so much more that I didn’t know obviously……and so well written.

thanks….and see you soon.

I think the freedom 2 b[e] gang are pretty special as well.