Pride Week?! That's so gay!

Okay, horrible title, but I hope it got your attention.  I feel compelled to write about this topic because it's an issue Christians continue to misunderstand and abuse.

I was sitting in a Sunday School class earlier this week and the question posed was, "What is not right to God?"  Several things came up but the last one struck me most, not so much the content as the delivery.  The woman said, "I looked at the paper and saw the heading for Pride Week, and *shudder* I know that is wrong!"

From a Christian standpoint, there is nothing and everything wrong with her statement (although even that standpoint is being debated, but let's go with the majority here).  Yes, homosexuality is not right to God.  But please people, let's remember to hate the sin and love the sinner.  The repugnance with which she shared her point repulsed me because she was talking like she wanted to throw the newspaper she saw as far away from her as possible.  If she is like that to a newspaper article, how would she be to an actual person, someone who would need compassion and acceptance?  If she has that attitude towards people who do wrong, how can she witness to them, nevermind preach to them the gospel?

I'm not saying she's a bad person any more than I'm saying LGBT's are bad people.  There's just so much misunderstanding and unnecessary stigmatizing we need to break down and clear.  If we Christians don't want to look like bigots (heheh, I always hear that word as "bye-gots") then, well, we better stop acting like ones!

Stop using the word "gay" to describe something you don't like.  It's incredibly derogatory.  Imagine how offensive it would be if someone tried to insult another by saying, "That's so autistic!"  I can imagine a lot of angry glares towards the name-caller.  As Christians, we definitely should not be promoting such negativity.  (**disclaimer** I am in no way comparing LGBT's to autistic people but merely trying to draw attention to something else which people would find offensive)

Try to treat LGBT's (or anyone you think might be) as regular people because they are!  They struggle with things just as much as we do, it only happens to be something different.  God didn't intend for any of us to be gay, short-tempered, moody, work-aholics, alcoholics, drug addicts, shopping adicts, manipulative, lustful, prideful - and the list goes on - but each of us are susceptible to something and it's much harder to deal with the thorn in our side if people alienate us, nevermind hate us.

There was a National Post article written by someone pro-gay and at the end some perspective by a reverend was written in.  Replying to the scientific possibility of altering an embryo to keep from being gay, he whole-heartedly said yes.  I personal would be against this but of course, where do you draw the line?  I reason for saying no is that by changing someone like that deprives us of being challenged on how to love.  It's easy for us to love someone who is in our minds perfect.  Let's remember that we are far from perfect and yet God decided to keep loving us despite our rejection of him, so much that he sent his son Jesus to pay the price we could never pay simply because of our imperfection.  I think changing an embryo's likeliness to be gay is as bad as changing its gender simply because of one's preference or one's perception that one gender is easier to live out or be loved. 

Some would ask whether the line should be drawn to include children with Down Syndrome or Autism or any other abnormality.  To that I can only answer for myself as I have learned from my mother.  There was a chance my youngest brother could have been born with abnormalities because my mother was pregnant with him late in life so she was given the option to abort - the most technologically accessible option at that time.  She pondered it for a couple of days and told the doctor that she was going to keep the baby, no matter what difficulties it may face, because either way it deserved to be loved and God has blessed her with this child so she'll see it through.  She had the baby - Dudon - and, as I say it, he came out with nothing worse than a big head.  It could have been different but I know my mom would have loved him just as much.

This isn't a stance on pro-choice or not, just a simple illustration as to why I would choose to keep the baby which is the same reason why I would not alter my baby: he or she deserves to be loved just as he or she is.  I'm not going to discuss particular difficulties or obstacles which are definitely special cases but just putting my perspective out there for others to think about.

So at the end of this, what am I trying to say?  That we should show compassion as Jesus did but not forget or neglect the difficulties and differences others face just as Jesus did.  That we should preach God's will and intent along with mercy.  Where or how you draw the line is between you and God but at the very least, love others, show compassion and encourage others to do the same.  How else will the kingdom of God be seen in our time?  And this Pride Week, get some perspective and try to understand where LGBT's are coming from instead of criticizing from one corner.  Ironically, you may find they are more compassionate than some Christians you come across.

Thoughts from 2008 - so far

These are thoughts I've jotted down over the last few weeks and February 1 is a good time to pause and reflect on them.

1.  It's great to spend New Year's Eve without the weight of responsibility so you can be a bit stupid if you like.  Even better when there are people around doing stupider things. =D

2. Shopping in the States using American money without having to calculate back how much I spent in Canadian dollars is GREAT!  Buying 5 MAC items for the price of less than 3 at retail price is even better.  Take in the sweetness.

3. Intersession courses are brutal for everyone involved (i.e. profs and students) but for one reason or another, we will all persevere - unless we're called to go to Minnesota.  (Ha, just kidding Kevin!)

4. God is funny with his reality checks: After much wishing on my part, Benny finally agrees to us looking into a trip to Europe for early 2009.  Then I start to feel funny... like dizzy and nauseous... and lightheaded... and fatigued... and realize that if became pregnant over the next half year, it would be bittersweet b/c we wouldn't get to go to Europe (not enough money on one salary to go before 2009).  How horrible is that, to lament being pregnant because I wouldn't get to see Le Louvre or Stonehenge?  C'mon, it's a BABY!!  That'd be awesome, right?  Then again... visiting Europe with kids in tow isn't my idea of a wonderful trip.  *sigh*  That sounds so small of me.

5. Normalcy is a beautiful thing, especially when your body couldn't control its own temperature for almost 2 weeks.  Sweating but not feeling warm, feeling a deep cold but not chills, rubbing arms and legs and back but no shivering... it's more exhausting and frustrating than you'd think.  Couple this with the dizziness and nausea from #4 and you've got a very annoyed Ada.  Heat packs and a humidifier helped but were not my salvation.

6. Never take talents for granted.  I can't sing anymore, at least not in a way I'm not embarassed about.  Lack of practice really gets to you.  I can't express how much this sucks.  To sing a dearly loved song and then hear your voice crack like a pubescent boy's or not being able to hold a note for more than 1/2 a bar is so discouraging.  I'll try to keep practicing, at least 15 mins a day.  Not having a piano really hinders this, but at least my guitar skills might improve.

7.  Hamsters are resilient animals.  Both of my hamsters got one back paw caught in the wheel but I was present for one of them, which I freed from the wheel.  The hamster which didn't get help, Milk, chewed off her own paw to free herself.  She cannot stand up balanced now! =(  The other hamster, Chocoloate, has swelling in her paw but it went down after 2 weeks.  Then something else happened to it and it started turning very dark and cold.  It eventually went black and, the nxt morning, half the paw was gone!  By the evening it was all gone.  So both Milk and Chocolate have a back paw missing.

8. Speaking at another church is refreshing for perspective.  Speaking in general is easier to handle when your host seems more nervous than you are. =P  Not that my host was nervous about me speaking! - but about how the service would go, where the set-up crew was, etc.

9. There is hope for the next generation!  In my sermon we looked over some commandments Jesus mentions in a particular passage and I asked the group (Gr. 7-9) which ones were missing without looking it up.  I didn't expect much of a response, a scattered one at best, but one girl cautiously, quietly yet confidently named them off without a hitch!  It's great to know there are still some people reading their Bible, picture version or otherwise.  And that they care to use it!

10. Always let the people you esteem know how you feel about them.  I'm not talking about spilling your guts out, but just making sure you - sincerely - say hi and ask them how they're doing so they know you care about them.  I found out this weekend that a dear customer of our Starbucks store passed away over the holidays.  I didn't know her well but over the last year we've been chatting more when I'm making her drink or when I come in for a drink myself and find her there.  It was so shocking to learn she's gone and that I'll never be serving her doppio espresso with ice water on the side ever again.

11. Friendships aren't - or shouldn't - be based on what you do together but who you are together.  Expressions made between each other are confirmations of the friendship, not the substance of it.  That sounds contradictory to #9, but that's something for you to do and this one is something you allow for other people.  If a friend is down and can't express their love for you, it's not the end of the friendship!  That person needs to be built up, not abandoned.  Lack of action when you can do something is something to be criticized, but if the friend fails to act or express because s/he is struggling, why hold that against him/her?  Then the friend can't truly be him/herself around you, and what good is that for anybody?

12. Being neurotic isn't easy, but I have to give myself credit when my gut is telling me something because I'm usually right.

The Decision

It's been a few weeks since I've properly seen my family, so I decide to meet with them for lunch even though I have a horribly late paper to finish.  Little did I know that lunch wouldn't start till 2 p.m. instead of 1 p.m. (or even 1:30!), and that I wouldn't get home till near 4 p.m.

The Decision:  Should I go to dinner with the in-laws for Grandma's birthday tonight?

CONS

1. Most likely will take 2 hours, one of which could be dedicated to writing my paper instead.

2. *sigh* Being around many people might drain me and I'd be too tired to do my paper, or at least would need some debriefing time before I start writing (that part of me sucks!).

PROS

1. Will I actually spend that other hour working?  I still have to cook, clean up, might get distracted with something else - I usually like to finish whatever I'm watching while I'm eating.

2. I don't have to cook.  I don't have to clean.  I don't have to smell like garlic or fried eggs.

3. I get to see my in-laws, whom I haven't seen properly in awhile either, nor Benny's paternal grandmother whose birthday it is.

4. We might get li-see. =D

Weighing out these pros and cons, I decided to go.  Figured if dinner starts at 7:15 p.m. latest (we're all supposed to be there for 7 p.m.), we might be able to get back for 8:30, maybe 9 p.m. since we have to drive Benny's maternal grandparents, and they'd want to stay for the whole thing.

The booking was made for 7:30 p.m.

The restaurant was packed at 7:15 p.m.

No one looked like they were going to move from their table at 7:30 p.m.

There were at least 3 big tables' worth of people waiting to be seated, maybe even 4.

GAH!! It would be rude to go back home now!  And how would Benny and his grandparents get back home?

So I stayed.  We got a table near 8 p.m. We got food near 8:30 p.m.  We ate a lot.  We talked a lot.

We left at 9:50 p.m.

We got home at 10:20 p.m.

Good thing is, I'm not that drained. =D

*sigh*  Maybe I'm not meant to pass this course.  My body can't handle less than 6 hrs of sleep/night, and trying that for one night throws me off quite a bit.  I hate that about my body!  A different context for "The heart/mind is willing but the flesh is weak."

Hopefully this paper will be done for Tuesday.  I'm already expected my next paper to be pretty darn late.  *shaking fist at self*

Kindness

Reminders

All of these things, held up in vain
No reason, no ryhme, just the scars that remain
All of these things, I'm so much afraid
Scared out of my mind with the demons I've made.
Sweet Jesus you'll never, ever, let me go.
Oh, sweet Jesus,
You'll never
let me go.