It has been a while since I last wrote. Last entry was before we went to San Francisco. That was a really wonderful weekend. I loved San Francisco. It was so beautiful and parts of the city reminded me of home--Valencia, Spain. I loved the mountains and the ocean. San Francisco has a personality of its own and I found myself thinking of what it would be like to live there. Maybe someday.
I think this summer has been a good one so far. Both Ryan and I are working full time so we try to enjoy the weekends as best we can and we have had some fun ones. Our five year anniversary is coming up and we are taking a long weekend to go to Wisconsin Dells. I am looking forward to that.
Last weekend was GLBT pride weekend. In Minneapolis, this means that they have a huge festival going on in the park a couple blocks from where we live. Every year we dread this because there's a lot of people and parking becomes a nightmare. And every year it makes me think about my beliefs and my attitude towards the GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered, for those who are not familiar with it).
I have had a couple conversations with friends about what I believe. As a Christ follower, I do not agree with their lifestyle. I do believe it is a sin. But I do not believe they are going to hell for being gay. If that were the case, we would all go to hell for being adulterer's, murderer's, liars...
Through conversation I had with friends, I wondered how important it was that people know that I disagree with the gay lifestyle. Really. Is it that important? I concluded that it really is not that important. And let me explain why: I don't think we should just brush the issue aside as unimportant because I think we do need to stand up for our beliefs. But my view on gay lifestyle is not the core to my beliefs, it's not even one of the most important aspects of my beliefs. I want to be known as a Christ follower because of my love for people, the love that God put in me. Not because I disagree with the gay lifestyle. And I think a lot of times as Christians, we make this too big of a deal so then we become known for our judgmental and hateful attitudes rather than love and grace and mercy. I hope that makes sense. It's not our place to judge. It's certainly not our job to convict. It is our job to love.
Since I'm talking about this already, I wanted to mention something else. I have heard a lot that traditional marriage is threatened by the possibility of gay marriage being legalized all over the U.S. I think that is so ridiculous. It drives me crazy that there is so much focus on the issue of gay marriage and then to blame it for the failures of traditional marriage...My marriage is certainly not threatened by it. Instead of putting so much energy in being anti-gay marriage, focus on strengthening your own marriage and helping others strengthen theirs.
So, yes, this is a loaded entry. It's ok if you disagree with me (I guess :-) ). But this is what has been on my mind. I think I should also admit that it is a struggle for me to love gays and lesbians unconditionally. I do have to work on my judgemental attitude. And while I work on it, I can still love those around me, no matter what their lifestyle or beliefs are.
Thank you for reading!
