Most of us have always been certain of who we are and what we are, at least as far as sexual orientation and gender identity go. Struggling with sexual orientation and gender identity is something that most of us may intellectually sympathize with but do not really understand the pain that is involved. We are rightfully recoiled and horrified when such persons are bullied, harassed, or even murdered.
That’s not the case in many other countries, such as Cuba, El Salvador, Guatemala, or Honduras, just to name a few close to us. I usually don’t write about the people who come to me to help them get protection here in the United States, but today there’s this young person, only 20, and he/she is before an Immigration Judge.
Unless your daily reading includes reports of how LGBTI persons are treated in such countries, you may not understand how grim life is for such individuals. And the police don’t even pretend to help; in fact, often the authorities are part of the problem. Asylum law on this matter is clear but who knows how a judge will rule? So, keep us in your prayers today.
Prayer for the Day
Holy Creator, although our language of you uses words of gender,
We know you are inclusive of all varieties of creation;
You, O God, are father and mother to us, your children,
Embracing us and loving us as any parent loves a child.
Help us to broaden the acceptance of all who inhabit the world,
Moving us beyond old stereotypes of who and what you are.
In the name of the One who embraces all,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
Thoughts for the Day
How are you supposed to be believed about the harm that you experience when people don't even believe that you exist?
- Alok Vaid-Menon, American writer, from Beyond the Gender Binary
I used to fear that embracing that identity [woman] would be tantamount to cramming myself into some predetermined box….While I used to view the "woman" as limiting, I now find it both empowering and limitless.
- Julia Serano, from Whipping Girl: A Transsexual Woman on Sexism
O Lord, my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
Or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
Psalm 7: 1-2