An open Ramble from a Rest in Peace....

When my brother and his wife gave birth to a daughter with downs syndrome I remember my immediate reaction was that I felt sorry for them. That was my first thought, but like most of my first thoughts, it's not the one that sits with me now.   I thought about my brother, his wife and what I know about their character and it occurred to me that my niece is "fearfully and wonderfully made"  (Psalm 139:14) just like me.  She is exactly the way God intends for her to be and my lack of understanding doesn't negate her purpose.  I don't know why this child was selected for them, but I have come to believe that God has given them a great gift that he has entrusted them with a task that maybe not just anyone could perform with as much love and diligence.  Now that I have children, I don't know what challenges God will entrust with me.  I don't want to know actually.  I believe these are the children I am meant to have and that God will give me the character and skill to bring to his challenges.  I bring this up because I am thinking about the difficulties we all have in life and how isolating those difficulties can make us feel.  I can't pretend to understand why some us walk an easier path than others seemingly.  I don't even know if my own path is headed for disaster that I can't yet comprehend and I certainly don't know enough about myself to say with any certainty how I would weather.  I struggle with my faith, I struggle with obedience, I have many character flaws, but one thing I think I know about myself is that I do feel a Christ like love for any one I can think of that God has put in my life. I don't like every thing about every person I've ever met, but I do love you....I don't feel like a hypocrite when I say that so I think I can trust that feeling.  I want to be in Heaven one day and I want very much for us all to be there together.  I think what I put out to the world about myself shows a beautiful picture of my life, my family, my blessings.   If all you ever saw was what I make available you might feel isolated in your own struggles and it's not my intend.   I never think to grab my Nikon when I am arguing with my wife about our different parenting ideas (she'd quit me if I did...),  I don't get on facebook and post about my financial fears, and I haven't invited my broad group of friends into my personal battles with my own inner demons, but I don't want for one minute for my rose colored persona to give you the false impression that you are alone if your life doesn't look like my pictures.  I'm not the most emphatic person and when I don't know to do, I don't do anything and that has rarely worked out the way I wanted, but if I know you....if you are reading this....if you feel alone....you are not.  I love you and I want you to stay around and see that it gets better.  I've seen it work out that way....      (RIP M.S.)

Southern Chicken and Sin...

I don't write to you guys like I should...I'm spending all my free time trying to be in your life so I've struggled to share with you the things I want to tell you about life. I am thinking about you today and this world we've brought you into... Tomorrow a lot of people, people I know and love even, will be going out to a particular fast food restaurant as a show of Christian solidarity. Seems a certain southern entrepreneur recently got vocal about his support for traditional marriage....now this wasn't news to anyone, but it got everyone in a bit of a frenzy. Mommy and mama are Christians and we love that chicken place and we believe in a lot of things that they believe in so it's been difficult to express my feelings about this. What that man said rubbed me the wrong way, but I don't suppose it was the content of his message so much as maybe it was just the arrogance of his delivery. I'm married to my first wife too, Mr. Cathy. Let me tell you where I think he might have gotten it wrong. I'll start by saying that I don't believe that God has a problem with gay people...I'm gay so I've spent a lot of time thinking about it and I think I would be alone and sad if I believed that it was what God wanted for me. I don't believe that, but most people do so I don't mind starting from the assumption that being gay is a sin, which is what I believe Dan Cathy might site as the basis for his message. Being overweight is a sin....the fried chicken people don't feel the need tell you their position on that. Fat people aren't ostracized from participating in organized religion. We can bring our fat friends to church without having to immediately turn the conversation to how to get that person thin so they can be right with God. I trust that putting a whole lot of love on someone will create the channel for God to do great works in their life.  If being gay is a sin, so is over eating, and gossiping, and lying and a multitude of other things that you are liable to do today. The Good News, the news that Jesus wants to share with you is that your sins are forgivable. You'll never be free of sin, but putting your faith in Him can transform you from the person you are today to something more worthy. Instead of inflaming people, creating a divide between believers and people that may feel unloved or separated from God because of sin, I guess I would have preferred that Dan Cathy had used his platform to share the Good News. I don't care that you support traditional marriage Dan, marriage is not a man made institution, we don't get to define it...marriage is a covenant that only God can define and we are on thin ice when take the moral authority upon ourselves to attempt to grant or deny access to covenants with God. Now those 1,100 some-odd federal rights I'm denied because of civil marriage laws....that's all man made...and we probably need to talk about that....