love wins

To my littles:

Today is a good day. Today the country we live in became a more fair place. A more just place. As of today, same sex couples have the right to marry each other. Love is love, and love is equal.

Now, I hope that by the time you are old enough to read this you are thinking, "What in the world is mom jabbering about? Why wouldn't gay couples be treated the same as straight couples? Mom must be SO OLD to remember these ancient times." But unfortunately I have a feeling that discrimination will still exist in some form. That there will still be individuals and groups of people who are marginalized because of who they are, who they love, what they look like, how they speak. There will still be people who aren't considered enough. So this is important. Even if none of the other things I have every written matter to you, I hope this one sinks in.

Today was a good day, but last week was not. Last week was hideous and heartbreaking. A white man walked into a church and killed nine black people at a Bible study. He did it solely because they were black. His heart was filled with hate, and now nine families have been broken. You see, humanity has a long history of being afraid of what is different. We don't always understand people who are different. And many times, that lack of understanding coupled with the fear of difference leads to hate. Uneducated, unjustifiable hate.

My littles, I pray that you are always the ones with your hands outstretched to the marginalized. I pray that you never fear those who seem different, but instead that you seek to learn about and befriend them. I can guarantee you that you will always find more similarities than differences if you are willing to truly look. And even if you find someone who is so different from you that you cannot find common ground, do not respond in fear. Respond with love. Know that they are just as sacred and special and God-created as you.

I am incredibly grateful that our world was made better today. I am hopeful that your generation will continue the progress we are making towards true equality, no matter one's race or religion or sexual orientation or any other characteristic. You are each so young still, and I have no idea what your lives will eventually look like. I don't know whether you will be single or married, but I love knowing that your decisions will not be limited based on your sexual orientation. That your love will be validated, whatever it looks like.

I love you and I am so privileged to walk into this brighter future with each of you.

Mom