love: making a statement

There's a lot going around today and I avoid all charged and controversial topics like the plague. 

However, now I'm going to make a bold-on-the-interwebs-for-all-to-see statement: 

I support my brothers and sisters who want the human right of marrying the person they love. 

I don't believe any other person's marriage is a reflection of the validity of your marriage. Does your neighbor's marriage affect your marriage? Does the abusive husband make your husband abusive? Does the couple married in Vegas have less of a marriage than the couple that planned their wedding for a year and spent thousands of dollars? Does the wife who cheats make your wife cheat? Does the couple who never got married but have lived together for 26 years affect your marriage? Does my singleness affect your marriage? 

When I think about being called to live differently, I look at examples of disregarding societal norms: approaching the shunned, the outcast, the sick, the downtrodden, the hurt; leaping over rules set for treating people of different races; defending women in a time and place where woman were chattel.

Yeah, I'm talking about how Jesus challenges me to love.

My willingness to love my LGBTQ brothers and sisters and believe in their right for equality isn't even the hard stuff Jesus is talking about. These friends have come into my life through school and church and work and mutual friends. I've washed their feet. I've kissed their cheeks. I've danced in the moonlight. I've cried in their laps. These "people" aren't just "people," they're my friends. Why can't everyone see that? Why the words of hate? Why is this so hard to support?

Since I can only speak for myself, I can tell you that I've been a non-vocal ally for years. Non-vocal. What does that say about me? I keep quiet because I love people who have opinions coming from both sides of this coin. I keep my mouth shut and words untyped because it feels safe, easier than having to defend my opinion. Is safeguarding my opinion a way to live authentically? Is it a way to let people truly know me?

I tell myself that maybe I'm wrong. Maybe my heart is telling me something that's not true. Maybe the logic and emotions that have brought me to my conclusions have holes throughout. Maybe I'm too easily influenced by others. The thing is, I don't care if I'm wrong because if being right means that I have to take away from someone else, I cannot live that way.

It's the same hate that's caused wars from religion

Gender to skin color, the complexion of your pigment

The same fight that led people to walk outs and sit ins

It's human rights for everybody, there is no difference!

Live on and be yourself

When I was at church they taught me something else

If you preach hate at the service those words aren't anointed

That holy water that you soak in has been poisoned

When everyone else is more comfortable remaining voiceless

Rather than fighting for humans that have had their rights stolen

I might not be the same, but that's not important

No freedom till we're equal, damn right I support it

love you people...even the ones who disagree with me.

love you people...who are hurting.

love you people...who feel alone.

love you people...who can't find their words. 

love you people...no matter how you identify. 

you matter.

xo