No Matter Whom You Love...

All of us know somebody who has a partner who is annoying or unkind or a jerk of the first order. We all know couples where we love one of the pair, but it just isn’t fun to spend time with them because one of them is so unpleasant.

Most of us probably know someone who has been in an abusive relationship. I know four or five women who have been in verbally, emotionally, and/or physically abusive relationships. Intelligent, funny, beautiful women…all of them.

As I watch our children grow and learn and thrive, it breaks my heart that our world still has time to care about the gender of whom I love as a life partner.

When I look at these sweet faces and hold these warm, bony shoulders, their small bodies digging their hot foreheads into my stomach as I wrap them in an embrace, my hope for them is that they share their lives with people who hold their hearts and spirits with tenderness. Each of our children deserve someone they trust implicitly, like utterly, and respect unreservedly. Add in passionate love, and the package is whole. When you find someone like that, make room for them in your life, no matter the gender.

When the world is so ready to de-value anyone who is not “us,” my place is to be the home for my children and their chosen partner, ready to say, “No matter whom you love, you are welcome here…”