(Love) rejoices in the truth. (1 Corinthians 13:6 NRSV)
Truth and morning become light with time. (Ethiopian proverb)
Like age, taxes, and death, the truth always seems to catch up to us. It doesn’t matter how long it takes, whether it’s only till the morning’s light, or on our death bed, the truth about whatever comes to light.
Ring true over time and space is Shakespeare’s immortal words: “To Thine Ownself Be True.”
Truth is like gravity. We can defy it, but we can’t escape it! If deep in our soul right now we know, honestly and true, that we are a part of this Diverse Community — if we are Gay, Bi, Lesbian or Transgender, and we know it as sure as we are reading these words, the truth will come to light just like tomorrow morning.
Go to a light switch and turn it on. That’s how truths in our life will appear. And they may come to the surface when we least want them to and/or when we least expect it. They catch up to us. Truth be known, we can’t protect or run from our secrets forever. We have to look in that mirror, and face the Real person we are! Easier said than done? In some realities, our lives depend on us facing ourselves in the Mirror of Truths. Since there are different degrees of death, we may embody ourselves so far down into that closet that it literally kills us from within. So our health may depend on whether we are mature enough to face that face in the looking glass.
Going along with plans to appease society’s shallowness by getting married, thinking we are going to “cure” ourselves, or playing with corporate America’s hypercritical games, afraid of being discovered while furthering our professional careers, and/or continuing to live cooped up in that closet, only magnifies the truth and stops us from reaching our full potential.
We will always be spending more time trying to protect the Real person we are than enjoying life. We may feel protection from the outside world in that dark, empty closet, but we have also shut out the World that can really help us. That is not Loving ourselves. Loving ourselves as we are is how God loves us. So why not love ourselves that way and rejoice in who we are born to be. And, yes, the truth will set us free!
Life is too short to be in that closet under a bunch of dirty clothes. That’s all that closet is good for: To hang up our clothes, not hide our lives!
Dear Lord: Let me remember that within my enclosed cocoon, I am not alone. I yearn to be free of these bonds of falsehoods, whatever they may be. Truthfully, it is no one’s business as to who I am. It’s between God and I, and since My Creator is for me, who has the right to be against me? But be patient with me to remember to be good to myself in this process, and help come to the realization that to really love You I have to love myself as I am. That’s the Light of the Truth! Amen.