This post is the seventh in a series.
I did quite a bit of journaling through the time when I was coming to recognize my reality. I would like to share some of these entries with you as a window into what it means to come out. Please come back to read through the rest of the journey. If you haven’t read the first, you can click here to be redirected to that post, called Truth. From there, at the bottom of each post you can navigate to the next.
Feb. 17, 2020
0800hrs
Yesterday, a friend gave me a pamphlet about a women’s retreat and I was reminded of another space where I have felt like an other.
Also yesterday, I wanted to publish my next piece on LGBTQ terminology [gender identity, found here]. I first wrote it for Tapestry on Nov. 4, 2019. When I read it over, I wept. Three months ago I wrote that for myself without knowing it.
“Our evolving ideas of gender give space for people to step out of the binary and say that not only are they a ‘tomboy’ but they don’t feel comfortable with the idea of being female at all!”
“The truly exciting thing for me is the freedom people are beginning to feel in finding themselves and identifying something deeply affecting and important.”
“There is a verse in Romans 8 (verse 16) that says, ‘God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are.’ I see this verse as deeply meaningful to us in regards to gender. We know who we are. The Spirit affirms that in each of us, whether we fit society’s (or the church’s) expectations or not. It has taken great courage for people to grab hold of the Spirit’s hand and proclaim the truth of who they are, come what may. I believe the Spirit identifies with them in their vulnerability and willingness to lead the world into new, greater understanding of what it means to be human.”
Thank you, Spirit! Thank you, God! I am amazed that you would use my own words as consolation! I was kind of dreading reading what I had said because of the difference in perspective from then to now. But you went before me! You gave me the words three months ago that I needed yesterday and still need today. Thank you for your love and care. Thank you for affirmation.
I can now say, “I believe the Spirit identifies with ME in MY vulnerability and willingness to lead the world into new, greater understanding of what it means to be human.”
Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash
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