Celebrate Life

As Sat Feb 27th approaches and 7.45pm (AEST) arrives when the 2010 Mardi Gras Parade sets off the issues of homosexuality, rights, gay marriage and the worth and dignity of GLBT people finds itself back on the agenda of the news media and certain sections of the Australian church.

Of course, the issue doesn't take a break in this section of the blogosphere but this is certainly a good time to put my point of view into the melting pot.

I just want to suggest a motif for the 2010 Sydney Mardi Gras should the event drift into your sphere of awareness; Celebrate Life.

Too often, issues get bogged down in prejudice, hatred, bitterness, arrogance, pride etc and these feelings affect all sides of the discussion. In the midst of all of the rhetoric we forget that people are involved; precious, valuable, worthy individuals with hopes, dreams, aspirations and lives that are worth living and celebrating.

As Mardi Gras 2010 approaches I want to take time to dedicate this blog to all of my many GLBT friends who encourage me, inspire me and show me how to love sincerely. For them and the many others who want to live and love freely I say - CELEBRATE LIFE.

Sunday Morning Scare

A digression from the usual spiritual fare to report on my recent Sunday morning experience.

In Australia most homes have separate laundries to hold the washing machine. Next to my washing machine is a small cupboard with some spare boxes and, on top of these, is a child's car booster seat. The top of this pile is roughly at my eye level next to the washing machine.

Sunday morning I went out to the laundry and started putting clothes into my top load machine and something caught my eye. I glanced across and froze when I saw a snake curled up on top of the booster seat!

I am English. Many Australians aren't too well versed on varieties of snakes and I haven't got a clue. We were never prepared for snakes when I was at school in Birmingham!

To cut a long story short I rang an excellent organization called WIRES who are a Wildlife Rescue group and they gave me details of a local snake expert. He came and informed me that we didn't have a snake problem; it was, in fact, a Central Australian Carpet Python so it would be an escaped pet.

Once the snake was crawling around on an expert I felt much more at ease but it's certainly not an experience that I want to repeat. On Monday I was speaking to supervisor at University who is Northern Irish and we were lamenting the many ways that you can be hurt, bit or scared witless by wildlife in Australia. Lucky country indeed!

Wideness in God's Mercy

For Christians the image above of the cross symbolizes the wideness of God's mercy and grace in accepting tired, stumbling people into His arms of love. When I observe the Church and talk to Christians I see something different; I see acceptance and love with very tight boundaries that are more to do with cultural preference and narrow middle-class values than grace.

The late Rich Mullins wrote a song called "The Love of God" and today I was sitting having a coffee when I recalled these words:

"There's a wideness in God's mercy

I cannot find in my own

And He keeps His fire burning

To melt this heart of stone

Keeps me aching with a yearning

Keeps me glad to have been caught

In the reckless raging fury

That they call the love of God."

Now THAT is love that I want to be a part of. "The reckless, raging fury that they call the love of God."

Sometimes life tries to beat me down. Over the last couple of months I have been tired and lonely but this morning I lifted myself and stepped in the reckless, raging fury of God's love and I am determined more than ever to tell people Christians, non-Christians, straight and gay that God loves them with a passion that is unsurpassed.

Walking Forward

I apologize for my lack of writing over the past couple of months. I found myself in another trough of depression and have been slowly working myself out. I have taken the positive step of contacting Al-Anon, a support group for Adult Children affected by alcohol and abuse so that I can deal with some of the things that keep trying to derail my life's progress.

Along with this effort to be honest and confront my demons I met with my supervisor yesterday to get the Master's thesis back on track. I have deferred this semester to allow myself to work unpressured and get back to where I should be.

This Sunday I am going with a couple of mates and two of my boys to Crave in Sydney, a vibrant inclusive church. This is my first step back into church for a long, long time so it will be interesting to say the least.

What I do know is that I am taking one step forward at a time and trusting God to go with me. Every time the voices rush in telling me that I am no good, worthless and will never achieve anything I try and speak louder and remind myself that I am a good person and loved by God.

Last night a good friend phoned me and, during the conversation, he told me that I understood "non-Christians" and that it was a rare gift. I think I just know what it is to hurt and I want to listen more than I speak and love more than I judge.