Living Proof

Remember when you were back in grade school, and during recess the kids would pick their teammates for their dodgeball game? More and more of your peers were leaving your side because they were lucky enough to get picked. Your mind starts racing, thinking how nobody wants you on their team or that you're not good enough. The self-loathing thoughts start rushing through your mind, leaving you to feel nothing more than mediocre---you were one of those "last but not least" kids. With a lump in your throat, you did the walk of shame over to whichever team needed one more player. Even as you enjoyed the game, you still weren't giving it your all because let's face it, most of them didn't want you on their team. Isn't this kind of similar to what we think about when we try to belong to a church? When I was younger, I attended Catholic school, or (CCD) so I can get my communion and confirmation. Most Italian Catholics did this, even if they were lukewarm in...

"Well what do other Christians say about the Bible?"  "Oh, you mean 'other people' and their book of rules?"  At the age of 19, I walked into a confessional booth, guilt-ridden and ashamed that I was dating another person of the same gender. The palm of my hands were sweaty as I entered into the small confessional booth, which had a tiny bench and a black mesh in between the priest and myself. I knelt down before the mesh and told him how long it had been since my last confessional (eek) and then poured out my heart, especially now that I was dating girls. "What do you mean you are dating girls?" "Well, I'm dating 'a' girl." "What do you do with her," he asked as silence followed. I didn't know what to say, other than tell him it was no different than dating a man, in some sort of innocent 'dating' way. I didn't want to describe my sex life with the priest, but he kept on asking me detail...