Once upon a time…

I was a bigot, brazenly proclaiming my bigotry towards God’s beautiful and wholly beloved LGBTQIA rainbow children.

Once upon a time…

I was completely unaware of the racism I carried within me that sometimes came out of my mouth.

Once upon a time…

I had no concept of white privilege or that I benefited from it.

Once upon a time…

I supported authoritarian law enforcement without question.

Once upon at time…

I was a Marine who believed in American exceptionalism and privilege despite those views harming children of God all over the world.

Once upon a time…

I held harmful and hateful theological views.

Once upon a time…

I didn’t know what toxic masculinity was or that I evinced it.

And then…

Grace set me free.

It didn’t happen all at once. A lot of it happened in secular spaces like classrooms, libraries, or in conversations with people. Eventually, those seeds of grace led me back through the doors of a church, then to the communion table, to seminary, and service.

At this time of Advent, may we rest in the hope that grace can set people free and may we extend grace to those people who are still mired in hatred, bigotry, xenophobia, nationalism, militarism, misogyny, or any other views that create false “Us versus them” conflicts. May we exemplify the grace of the one who said that we are to even love our enemies and pray for those who spitefully use us. Let us live in the hope that God’s grace truly is sufficient.