Heart talk

Our hearts are fragile things, and all of us have one. I'm not talking about medical issues, but those intangible feelings that make or break us - love, heartache, loss, pride, happiness, peace, anger, forgiveness.

Today I realized that I have recently signed two comments on my friend, Peterson's, blog, with the closing, "my heart goes out to you." I was responding to another wife, like me, of a gay man. She, like me, had all of the emotions to deal with when this deep secret was revealed. I can't know how best to help this woman, but I knew that I could identify and share what has helped me. By closing in the way I did, I hope that she knows that someone else has been where she is today, and I lived through it.

Somehow I have made it out of my Christian fundamentalism, and the misconceptions of homosexuality that I had previously known, to a bigger understanding of gay people. My faith has been shaken, but it is still there. Without sounding presumptuous, and I surely don't have all the answers to so many questions, I have grown more than I even thought or dreamed possible.

Many things have helped me in the past [almost] four years, and there are ways that hope has entered my life and my heart. I hope that I can offer that to other wives of gay men, and perhaps to my friends who read this, too.

Keith Olberman on Prop 8

So many times I find that someone else says what I mean in ways better than I do. Here is an expample of that, and, rightly so. Keith Olberman is a professional communicator. While I'm not that, I do have some things I want to say to go along with this.

Earlier this year my former husband officially and publicly came "out" as a gay man. I had gone through the shock of that nearly 4 years previously, gone through the pain, heartache, sadness, and grief. Gone through the near-loss of faith in Christ, gone through dealing with so many, many questions. Fortunately, although I still experience many normal emotions of dealing with all this, I proudly stand with him as someone who loves and affirms the relationships of gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgender individuals. And if it means anything, I want to post this video statement by Mr. Olberman.