I am a white female, blending into the proverbial room nicely - I don't stick out like a sore thumb, and I am also not going to necessarily shine like a star. I prefer it this way.
As a female I have experienced some difficulties based on the gender I was born. Not as many as generations before me, however. At the end of the day, I am someone who has had very little issue with fitting in, I think from time to time everyone feels this in some way or another. But not the difficulties other friends have experienced by being gay, being darker in skin tone.
I am a Christian, and highly spiritual, but have friends who are Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist...as a Christian living in the United States, I have had very little ridicule based on my faith. If I was born somewhere else, that may be different. I don't feel the need to apologize for my political or religious beliefs, holding them closely to my heart. I welcome others to discuss their faith and political ideals if they are, in turn, willing to actively listen to my sentiments. We may not agree, but it is the sharing that I find important. We may come from different thought patterns or ideals, but it is learning how and why someone feels the way they do you are truly able to respect those thoughts.
I am not gay. I have never held an attraction to someone of the same sex, nor have I ever entertained the idea of having a relationship with someone of the same sex. That is not how I was born. From a very early age I remember having crushes on boys - heck, I still remember the name of my crush in Kindergarten through 2nd grade. Paxton. He had dark hair, was a nice boy, and I always wanted to sit next to him if we had small group circles where we sat next to people. I do, however, have openly gay friends and family members. It hurts my heart to see some of the struggles they go through based on their heart. Discussions at length have occurred with some of them. Some of my friends have struggled for years with emotions and feelings they tried to suppress from those closest to them for fear of rejection. Some have struggled with that end result of rejection from those who once called themselves friends. And maybe the worst is when you are rejected from your family, those who you are bound to by blood and birth. Over time, feelings may change. Over time, reactions that once were the source of pain may be calmed.
Here are my thoughts, and while some may not agree with me, and that is fine. My thoughts come from a place that is genuine in love for my family and friends who have a difficult time with the reaction of others.
Putting yourself into someone else's shoes is often very difficult, and not as easy a task as we would assume. I am far from perfect, and will never say that I am perfect. I would rather have myself surrounded by loving, supporting, caring individuals. Some times this will include those who share different opinion than mine, different backgrounds, experiences, ideals than those I hold for myself.
As a Christian, I believe we are to love everyone. Loving someone is not an emotion - it is a choice. It eventually develops into what we associate with emotion, but in the end, we all have a choice to love someone. As a Christian, I believe my loving others is not segregated by differences of ethnicity, religion, education, color of skin, height, weight, political views, or sexual orientation. I will not always get along with everyone I meet; that is the nature of being human. But I do have the ability to respect all those I meet, and just as loving someone is a choice, so is respecting others.
We are taught in church to accept others, yet sit and pass judgement as we look around at the congregation. While we may not be doing this purposely, it still settles into our hearts, into our minds, and carries over into our daily lives. If Christ was able to accept all who came to him, both while on earth and in today's age, why do we feel we are so much mightier to judge others? As if our lives are so much more valuable than another person's life? In speaking from the heart, I feel no need to judge another person based on their skin color, religion, sexual preference.
We are taught from the Bible that Jesus walked this Earth, befriending those who were seen as less than desirable. He befriended those that were seen as having value as well. His love didn't stop based on someone's physical health, or their choices made in life. He showed the highest example by knowing how to love others not based on what the world knows them as, but as His Father saw them - a beautiful soul created in His image. There are no accidents when it comes to His love for us; He does not withhold His grace from us based on attributes mentioned above. The Lord accepts us as we are, where we are, for who we are. Jesus accepted others in the same manner, showing us an example of the highest quality of love. Why are we unable to do the same thing? At the end of the day, I do not want to have the role of judge for the world when I sometimes cannot even manage my own life effectively. I believe that role should only be held by Heavenly Father. It is not my job to pass judgement upon someone else.
If we hold the belief that we are all God's children, we need to start practicing what we preach. We need to accept others, regardless of how they may appear when walking through our church doors. We need to look beyond skin tone, sexual preference, and religious belief and truly love others as If we are the body of Christ, we need to actively love others regardless of previous 'sins' committed. If we are all followers of Christ, we need to see the beautiful spirit others have, and remember we are all beautiful in the eyes of Christ. We are never to assume authority or supremacy above others simply because they are different.
We are all unique. We are all special in one form or another. There is not another person out there, wandering through their lives, experiencing the exact same situations, thoughts, and emotions as I am. We will all make mistakes in our lives, we will all follow a path based on our desires, our experiences. Others will make decisions we do not like, hurt others for unknown reasons. People will make decisions that make us feel proud to know them, hopefully feeling blessed in their joys.
In the end, we are all created in His image, created to love Him, and created to learn while we are here on His Earth.
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