Shout-out to a fellow church kid with incredibly BORING testimony! It really bothered me that I basically had nothing to say. And yet here we are now on the outside, more or less, where those I knew then would be horrified by my "fall from grace."
I'm obviously very late reading this. The election is over. It feels like the worst has happened, but there's no denying things are about to get much, much worse. Yet your piece about how minutes can change still refreshed me.
Onward and upward, I guess. May genuine relationships, gentle conversations, and fierce love ripple through this nation and the world. The darkness is great, and likely to grow darker, but the glimmers of light may yet grow stronger, for change is always possible.
My journey resonates with authentic relationships being a very powerful agent of gradually changing our minds... or at least opening the door to that possibility. I'm so very grateful that my pastor is now so intentional about creating safe spaces for us to have difficult conversations in love and with inclusiveness on our faith journeys... and at great cost to him personally. I respect and love you both for your courage and I really enjoyed your article.
“I woke up one day thinking that if I had to be wrong in one direction, I wanted to be wrong in the direction of love and inclusion.” Love and respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every being is my guiding star, too. Thank you for raising these vital questions. I’m grateful that we all have the capacity to grow and change and enlarge our perspective and circle of care. Tenderness, curiosity, honest conversations and deep listening play big parts in sparking change.
I had a similar experience of change on the LGTBQ+ affirming front - wanting to be wrong in the direction of love. Well said. Appreciate the reminder to be patient with others as people were with me <3.
Shout-out to a fellow church kid with incredibly BORING testimony! It really bothered me that I basically had nothing to say. And yet here we are now on the outside, more or less, where those I knew then would be horrified by my "fall from grace."
I'm obviously very late reading this. The election is over. It feels like the worst has happened, but there's no denying things are about to get much, much worse. Yet your piece about how minutes can change still refreshed me.
Onward and upward, I guess. May genuine relationships, gentle conversations, and fierce love ripple through this nation and the world. The darkness is great, and likely to grow darker, but the glimmers of light may yet grow stronger, for change is always possible.
AMEN! And solidarity on the boring testimony. haha
My journey resonates with authentic relationships being a very powerful agent of gradually changing our minds... or at least opening the door to that possibility. I'm so very grateful that my pastor is now so intentional about creating safe spaces for us to have difficult conversations in love and with inclusiveness on our faith journeys... and at great cost to him personally. I respect and love you both for your courage and I really enjoyed your article.
Thank you, Michael!
“I woke up one day thinking that if I had to be wrong in one direction, I wanted to be wrong in the direction of love and inclusion.” Love and respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every being is my guiding star, too. Thank you for raising these vital questions. I’m grateful that we all have the capacity to grow and change and enlarge our perspective and circle of care. Tenderness, curiosity, honest conversations and deep listening play big parts in sparking change.
I had a similar experience of change on the LGTBQ+ affirming front - wanting to be wrong in the direction of love. Well said. Appreciate the reminder to be patient with others as people were with me <3.
You're so welcome. It helps me to reframe my own frustrations. 🫶
I could not agree more. 🫶
I also had the Lake Street Dive song “I Can Change” pop into my head when I read your post.