All my life I needed someone to listen to my story. It seemed almost like an obsession; I would tell everyone, again and again, looking for something, I didn't know what. I thought it was sympathy that I craved, but in hindsight I realized that what I really needed was to be heard, understood, and accepted so that I could then move beyond that need.
My search led me to my Unitarian Universalist church, and even after 6 years of attending, every time I hear my Ministers speak of acceptance, connection, belonging, understanding and love for all..., tears stream down my face. Mostly now it's because I am deeply touched by our interconnection and common need for such things, but there is still deep healing happening in me; I can feel it.
Now as a Worship Associate, I have been given the opportunity to tell my story, but this time the reason I am telling it is so that others like me will feel that welcome and the sense of belonging that I was given, so that they might also find a place to heal and become whole. There is nothing more meaningful that I can do in this life than pass on that gift, and that too helps heal what was broken in me.
In my church we speak about ministry as being what we as individuals can contribute to our larger community. My ministry is to work toward healing, to help make whole that which has been broken. I share my stories now, not for kudos or personal gain, but to help dismantle the walls of otherness and the division they causes in this world. Even if those listening do not relate to my experiences, I hope that they can relate to my vulnerability and and our shared humanity. For it is my belief that if we allowed ourselves and each other to be exactly who we are with all of our differences and imperfections, we will shed our disconnection and disassociation, and slowly, but surely, our world and all that's in it will begin to heal and become whole.
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