Yesterday, while performing my duties as a hall monitor during lunch, I had a conversation about youth and young adults within the LGBT community. I was a little apprehensive at first, but as the conversation ensued I was glad I had it.
As a project for graduation, one of our high school seniors is going to start a Gay and Straight Alliance (GSA). It's a club in many high schools and colleges which invite people from the LGBT community to understand that there are straights who accept them without conditions.
I was talking about this idea with my hall monitor partner, forgetting that she was raised an evangelical Christian. She began by asking questions about why such a club is needed, to which I blabbed a few statistics: over 80% of teens who come out are bullied at school, 26% of teens who come out get kicked out of their homes, etc.
She had no idea there was an issue, but after thinking about it she recalled when her niece had told her family she was a lesbian their first reaction was anger caused by betrayal and they kicked her out of the house, causing her to live on the streets. My hall partner began recalling how her niece soon turned to prostitution and drugs, to which I told her that's the normal pattern for youth and young adults who end up on the streets.
She thought for a while in silence, and continued the story about her niece, remembering that after a few months her parents went looking for her and brought her back home, where they apologized for not understanding and vowed to try harder to be accepting. Today her niece is living a successful life and is in a very happy relationship.
I hold firm to the belief that God does not "kick us out" for any reason. The God I believe in understands that sometimes we need to leave on our own to search for our personal truths. The good news is that God will always be there to hold us tightly in God's arms when we do decide to come home.
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