June was Pride month which meant both a lot of rainbow flags and even more angry Facebook rants against them.
Amsterdam, April 2017
I've been on the road a lot the last few weeks and haven't had a chance to share any thoughts, so here’s a few from 30,000 feet:
I haven’t posted much about sexuality since my original post a few years ago; I just never felt the need. My sexuality and my story are my own… and they're still unfolding. So when, where, and with whom I share it is my decision and mine alone.
I don’t want to spoil much (because New York is expensive and I want you to buy it) but if you’re curious, you can read more details of that journey when my first book is (hopefully!) released later this year.
Kauai, June 2018
I began writing to make sense of my world, but I’ve kept writing to help others make sense of theirs. I’ve wrestled, cried, and crawled through the liminal spaces of faith, mental health, and sexuality and understand what it means to wait.
I believe in life we often become what we wish we’d had… so, regardless of the season of life you've found yourself in, my hope is you’d find faith and courage in knowing you’re not as alone as you may feel.
And I think that’s what, beneath all the glitter, Pride is about. It’s a space where you can exist as you are, where the kaleidoscope–the rainbow–of who you are (even if you're still figuring that out!) is celebrated. A place you don’t have to feel alone.
But some Christians find it ironic, or even upsetting, the LGBT community chose the rainbow to represent them.
If you’ve seen the bad Emma Watson movie or read the Old Testament, you'll remember at the beginning of the Bible a great flood came as a judgment on humanity. But, after the sky clears, God sent a rainbow as a promise never to destroy the Earth again.
Look, my bachelor’s is in business and I work in corporate communications… so I’m not claiming to be a theologian. However lots of people with “Ph.D.” after their names believe the rainbow in the beginning of the Bible foreshadows the end of the story–the “end” being the part where God sends Jesus to unify humanity through his message of love, restoration, and inclusion.
I'm inclined to agree; regardless of the intention, I believe the rainbow is appropriate. We can have a healthy debate about theology all day long, but let's not miss the forest for the trees. You don’t have to understand drag queens or cover yourself in glitter to appreciate the importance of Pride, because even as a Christian you probably understand it more than you think.
You see, Pride wouldn’t exist if people didn’t feel marginalized or a need to fight for equality, and a couple of thousand years ago that's one of the reasons why Christ himself came.
Pride exists because people in need found their way to each other… and isn’t that why the Church exists too?
We become in our lives whoever the people we love say we are and perhaps that’s why Pride parades are getting bigger, and churches are getting smaller.
My intention isn't to be inflammatory, just the opposite. To quote my pal Bob Goff, “burning down others opinions doesn’t make us right, it makes us arsonists." I want to build bridges, not burn them down which is why I point out we all live under the same sky.
So, wherever you find yourself this summer - whether you’re marching in a parade, fuming on the sidelines, or somewhere in between… I hope you remember all of our stories weigh the same,.. at the end of the day, we’re all just trying to find a place to belong.
Humans are more like stained glass than folded cardboard so let’s stop putting people in boxes and start standing beside each other instead.
Our neighbors are our teachers not our projects, and perhaps we're not on Earth to fix people but to just be with them, and maybe throw a little glitter along the way.