Thursday, August 09, 2007

Fortunately

I think I am done with my traveling for a while (I hope anyway). My cats hope so, too. They miss me. I honestly don't know how Peterson does all the travel he does. Just a couple of trips through an airport in a month about does me in.

So I'm back from a recent trip to Kentucky and Tennessee. I did have a couple of days in there when I was able to get some much needed rest.

These last few months have been really busy and filled with a lot of wonderful things, and some incredibly stressful times as well. I remember this book I wrote when I was in the third grade. It started out "Fortunately, I..." and then the next line would be "Unfortunately,..." and they would alternate back and forth like that.

Fortunately, I got to see my cousins. Unfortunately, my cousin had oral surgery the day I arrived so was in pain most of the time. Fortunately, we're all pretty low-key folks and just go with the flow. Unfortunately, I messed up the back bumper of my rental car. (The second rental car I've damaged in the last five weeks. My insurance agent asked me to stop playing bumper cars.) Fortunately, I got to see some GCN friends. Unfortunately, I had a lot of problems with air travel and delayed flights and missed connections. Fortunately, I got to swim in the lake behind my cousin's house. Unfortunately, a rock dislodged while I was climbing down to the lake and I fell a few feet into a pile of huge rubble, and got bruised and scraped up. Fortunately, I was still able to swim across the lake and back.

Fortunately, I got to meet Disputed Mutability in person after talking to her online since 2003 (she's great). Fortunately, I had time to read two books. Fortunately, I got to caravan with Jamie from Soulforce (we had to drive from Lexington to Nashville), and share a hotel room with him. Fortunately, I got to spend a bit more time with Darlene Bogle. Fortunately, we held a press conference at the Baptist Convention headquarters that went well. Fortunately, my cousin's kids are a lot of fun to be around. Fortunately, I have friends who really care. Fortunately, I have more fortunate things in my life than unfortunate.

That's my last two weeks in a nutshell. Fortunate indeed.

9 comments:

  1. That's a really fun way of saying what's up in one's life! Hmmm. Glad your back blogging. :)

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  2. Whew...your itinerary makes *me* tired (and jealous)!

    I am relieved that Disputed Mutability (whose blog I have interacted on) is great (right word?)

    Cause sometimes I kind of feel a bit out of sorts there (on her blog) as an ex-ex-gay and hmmm... failure.

    Maybe it is just me; I have not had much common ground with ex-gays and those who are now straights, etc... Kinda feel like going back into the closet with some...

    Thanks Christine -- you have such a homey and folksy blog I want to put the hot chocolate and herbal tea on the stove and pass steaming cups around -- I feel that welcome.

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  3. Christine, I love the way you wrote this post, focusing on the fortunately's. Thanks for a gentle reminder of what's important. And thanks for your press conference at SBC headquarters. As someone who was raised Southern Baptist and who has struggled for decades to reconcile faith and sexuality I appreciate you alerting them to the fact that they need to understand the suffering their viewpoint causes and the fact that this suffering happens to people within the faith community.

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  4. I just heard you this morning on KCFR and wanted to reach out to you and tell you how much what you said meant to me. I am not gay or ex-gay, but my former father-in-law is a prominent leader in the ex-gay culture in Denver. Your kind voice and kind motives this morning really spoke to me and I was touched by how well you are promoting healing. I went through a total annihilation from the church and everyone in our two families after slowly, and excruciatingly realizing I could not carry out the role of what a woman is supposed to be in the evangelical church and wound up painfully divorcing my abusive and controlling (but Christian) husband. I feel your story and the unspoken stories of so many others who have felt such shame and condemnation, and it strikes a similar chord in me. I just send you my love this morning, pure and simple, human to human. Thank you.

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  5. I hope your cats didn't leave any "definitive statements" around the house. That's what a couple of ours do when we travel.

    I saw you at XGW today, and thought of you.

    I'm glad you had such a good kind of busy to keep you occupied!

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  6. I miss your comments on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Hope all is well. Check out my blo sometime. http://jpsjots.blogspot.com/

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  7. Fortunately, I love to read your blogs. Unfortunately, there hasn't been anything new for a month! Fortunately, I love you anyway. Unfortunately, the blog silence makes me miss you more.. :(

    Becky

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  8. I second Becky....
    We miss your voice, come back to us quickly.

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  9. HI my name is Sara and I just wanted to say that I read your interview in glamour mag by accident one morning. I am born again and really love the Lord and have been saved from so much pain and suffering. I am from Ireland where its hard to be born again at times. There are a few things you said in article that really got me thinking as to how to answer you. I can tell you that yes God does still love you and yes He can and does what you to be all you can be BUT he is not going to do it all for us. He allows us the freedom to choose. You are allowd to choose what you do as I am. You can get drunk if you wish you can take drugs if you wish you can be gay if you wish. Im not saying that this is something easy Im just saying its a choice. God wont make you stop doing anything. BUT He will give you the power and the strenght not to do something if you CHOOSE not to keep doing it. We also need to be sorry for the things we do that are wrong and its not for me to tell you what is wrong, thats between you and God. I can see you love Him, yeah your angry, I was also when my 9yr old brother died, at my mother being depressed and an addict for all my life, i can tell you I have also felt pain, not the same as yours but pain and suffering that only God can heal. All I can say to you is that we all do things that are against God but no one has the right to condemn, you only have one person to answer to and that is the Lord, He wants you to be His again but you must want Him also. Please hear my heart, Im writing this out of love, God is not someone to be angry with, He had a plan for you, plans to give you a hope and a future not to destroy you, we may not understand the pain and suffering in this world, but He will work all things together for GOOD for those who love him. If you want to stay away from His love that is also your choice. I will remember you in prayer.
    Sara
    Ireland

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