It’s been a couple of months since I took Jenna
and her friend to see The Mysterious Happy
Life of Brown Bag by Greg Near. I honestly did not know what it was about –
but it was playing at the library and gave us something to do for free.
It started out cute and funny.Jaime, Trume and I all laughed.Towards the end though, they both got bored
with it and I don’t think they realized what had even taken place.The one act play had taken me from laughter
to tears in just a matter of seconds.Brown Bag had been bullied because he was different.He so desperately wished to have friends that
he allowed them to manipulate him – even though he knew that because they were
trying to hurt him, they really weren’t his friends.
After the play the cast members and writer and
some others held a discussion panel.Trume and Jenna both wanted to leave – which I understood.It’s not a comfortable subject. But I thought
it was important that we stay and get some feedback.
So many of the children (what little there are)
that surround us are from broken homes and dysfunctional families and perhaps
it’s just what they’ve learned from their own surrounding circumstances and
upbringings.I wouldn’t classify any of
them as bullies (just yet anyway) though there are a few that have been able to
manipulate Jenna.
Jenna had always been the leader when we lived in
our first part.Yes, she was a bit
manipulative – but in a positive way.She never tried to hurt her friends.She never tried to seek pleasure by embarrassing another or enjoying
watching others get into trouble or what have you.She’s just always had a head full of great
ideas and would strongly suggest that her friends play her games.But they always had fun together.There was never anything cruel about her
domination.
Over here things are different.She has somehow allowed herself to get sucked
up into things that she hasn’t been comfortable doing – and I repeatedly tell
her to stand up for herself and not to get sucked in.A real friend wouldn’t allow a friend to feel
uncomfortable.I’ve used my own examples
as well as referring to The Mysterious
Happy Life of Brown Bagand repeatedly asking if she remembers what
happened to him.
I used to worry about Tony, too.Tony has always seemed socially awkward
(actually, both two oldest boys have) and I was afraid he would fall in with
the wrong crowd.He is swayed so easily.
Even as an adult I think he is easily manipulated. I’ve always wished that he
would stand up for himself and not allow others to walk all over him.But he has been walked on a lot.
Jenna and I are over here to learn something.I don’t know what it is.Gratitude perhaps.Because right now we are not very grateful.I’m finally comfortable in my own ward, but
not with the neighborhood.Not with
Jenna’s friends (or lack thereof)
I don’t deal well with bullying.I am so upset with the results and the
pain.Manipulation needs to vanish.
He entered another house in a
countless number of foster homes. It was
mid December and his new foster mom asked what he would like for
Christmas. His request was simple. Never before had he been in any home long
enough to even celebrate Christmas. He
wanted his own stocking – which Diane had planned on getting anyway.
They went out that night and allowed
him to choose his very own stocking and made sure his name got written at the
top. He beamed for days and asked for
permission to take his sock with him to school.
For him it represented a sense of belonging, something he hadn’t felt
for almost ten years.
His biological mother had abused him
and who knows how many others? He had
been recycled in the system so many times it wasn’t any wonder that he
understood what it was to feel neglected and abandoned.
The first time I remember seeing him,
Mark had a tremendous speech impediment as he had an obvious stutter. He was hard to understand, I thought. It must have required great patience on Tim
and Diane’s part. But they raised
him. They made him feel secure. They made him feel whole. He got to the point when it didn’t bother him
to be hugged or touched appropriately – whereas before he’d been majorly
uncomfortable about it.
What a huge difference this couple had
made in Mark’s life. He was reared in
the LDS Church and had many positive influences – but there were some who still
continued to have problems with him and would often make fun of him and his
speech. There were a tremendous amount
of obstacles that he was able to embrace or allow to work to his advantage.
In time he learned to speak without
stuttering. When he turned eighteen, and
the state cut off financial ties for him, he remained a part of Tim and Diane’s
family. They loved him and he loved
them.
True story. Except for the names. There are thousands of Marks in this
world. How fortunate we are to have the
many who are like the Tims and Dianes among us who can wipe out the negative
and insert the positive. I feel so
blessed to have been part of their lives myself – even if it was only for a
short time.
DoogieHowserran from
September of 1989 to March of 1993. I
have actually never seen an episode. I
remembered seeing previews for it. But the
entire concept of this teenage doctor was just so bizarre – I couldn’t imagine spending
time watching it. I’m quite surprised it
was actually on for four seasons.
I have been a consumer in several
stores throughout my life. The older I
get, the younger the clerks become. Too
often I will encounter those who seem clueless, who seem to have no sense of
direction with customer relations, who look at me as though I’ve sprouted horns
or am talking in a foreign tongue. I
refer to those kids as “fetuses”
There have been a few, however, that
just “look” younger than they are, but speak with such maturity and
sophistication that they sound much older than they look. (I think Neil Patrick
Harris looked way younger than fourteen when the show started) It is the male
population of these wise that I have nicknamed “Doogie Howser”.
There is a handful of Doogie Howsers
in my ward. I guess they seem so much
younger to me because the average age in the ward is above 70 – and those that
I dub as Doogie Howsers are all in their 20’s – though this one in particular
appears to be younger than any of my boys but as we’ve lived in the ward for
three years – and he has lived here with his wife in all that time, I know that
he’s older than my youngest two and probably my eldest.
Wade’s worn his hunter orange cardigan
to Church a couple of times. One can’t
help but notice as it is truly bright.
The last time he had worn it while blessing the sacrament I was reminded
of a situation that Corey related to me – he was told that he would not be able
to participate in blessing the sacrament as he was wearing a purple shirt. Really?
I understand steering away from casual
wear – out of respect to our Creator – at the same time we don’t KNOW the
reasons that people wear (or don’t wear) what they do. Corey happens to like the color purple – and
he looked nice in his non-traditional Sunday suit. He wanted his own identity – his individual
worth. But nobody had asked if that was
the case . . .
Maybe all his white shirts had been
damaged in the washing machine when it broke down. Maybe the purple shirt was the only one that
fit. We don’t know. Wade may be wearing his orange cardigan for
whoever bought it. It’s definitely an
attention getter, and he teaches Jack – our only young men aged youth. Maybe Jack listens better when he has that sweater
glaring at him. Or maybe he can’t find
his suit jacket and the cardigan is warm.
In my last ward there was a
persnickety Pharisee who harped on the dress code almost every week. I think she was offended that there had been
a few show up in jeans or more casual wear and wouldn’t even make an effort to
dress another way. Wouldn’t it be more
important to Jesus to have his children show up than stay away due to a strict
dress code?
I’m not bothered by it – but I know
some people are. Another example is a
counselor to the bishop came dressed in jeans.
It’s all he had. His wife had passed
away that week and no one had picked his suit up at the cleaners. He was conducting. With emotion, he announced his own wife’s
upcoming funeral.
I don’t normally wear panty hose –
even to the temple. My legs chafe. I’m certain that God understands. He is, after all, the one that gave me my
overly sensitive skin.
I know some people get lazy. Some become wrapped up in their own thoughts
that they forget why others are dressed up. But I know the Savior would still
welcome them with a smile. He would even
allow them to bless and pass the sacrament knowing their worth and worthiness
lies on the inside and not outward appearance. I am grateful for those who are willing to embrace others just because they are there. For those who don’t pass judgment. For those who accept.
Roland has often told me about
different dreams that he’s had and always concludes with, “What do you think it
means?”
Dreams are just that. Some are bizaare. Some are wonderful. Some you hope to never “dream” again. And perhaps some do have meaning. Truthfully, I don’t place too much value in
dreams. I think that is how God
communicated to his children at one time – and perhaps still does to some –
though I think the methods of communication have broadened sufficiently since
then. My personal opinion is that, overall, dreams really don’t mean a whole
lot.
Still, I often have crazy dreams that
I will write down or share just because they are so bizarre. And sometimes I ask myself what would have
caused me to dream it. But I never go
into depth about the possible symbolism that may (or may not) exist.
Last night I dreamed my nephew-in-law
was getting married. The strange part
about my dream is that I don’t think it was to my niece – though I don’t
remember getting a good look at the bride’s face. But physically she looked too short and not
quite so thin as my niece, Ellen. Actually I don’t recall remembering any of
the wedding party – except for my niece (Ellen’s sister) who is currently in
junior high right now.
I believe the marriage itself was in
the temple. I know I watched them get
married. And suddenly everybody was
changed into picnic casual – except for me and my niece – though her skirt and
vest were a lot more casual than the white strapless dress that I was wearing –
a dress that was pretty, but one that I personally would NEVER wear in real
life. Not in front of others
anyway. Not to a picnic. And certainly not to the temple.
And suddenly my thoughts turned to
weddings past and things that had been missed out on. I tried to shut it out. I was tired.
It was early and I wanted to sleep still. But I finally got up and turned on the
computer and started reading through many of the comments left on this post.
So often we allow ourselves to feel
unloved, useless or unwhole because of certain comments made in society or by
the Church. We are told that we need to
fit into this perfect mold, this compact Mormon box – and if you have feminist
thoughts or same sex attraction or if you don’t go to the temple a certain
amount of days or if you wear open-toed shoes without hose to Church or if you
don’t volunteer for at least every other canning assignment – well, you just
don’t fit into the box and you need to repent and turn your life around. And if you don’t, you are not worthy of the “Mormon
Box” Club.
The young women of the church are
taught values.One of these values is
Individual Worth. This is defined as individuals, each with her own divine
mission which she will strive to fulfill – “for the worth of souls is great in
the sight of God”.
I don’t believe he is looking for carbon
copies but expects us to be true to Him but also true to ourselves – even though
sometimes the two may seem to conflict.We still have to find what makes us happy and stay true to who we are
meant to be regardless of path others may follow or think that we should
follow.No matter how we act or what we
do or who we are or how we dress – we will NEVER PLEASE ALL PEOPLE – we all
have our own differences, our own personal taste, our own individual
worth.It’s important that we remain TRUE
TO OURSELVES.We have all been given the
same guidelines but are still free to make our own choices and receive our own
personal revelations.
And sometimes these personal revelations
may conflict with the teachings of the Church – or our own interpretations of
those teachings anyway. My brother gave
up his membership to be with his partner – someone he would like to be with not
just on this earth life but throughout all eternity. It is something he
pondered about and struggled with for a long long time. And he knows (as well as many others) that the
decision made was right for him. But the
path that he’s on may not be the right one for all homosexuals. He’s on a divine mission with several bumps
in the road. God has given him that
unique gift of smoothing the path that others may follow. He is a pioneer.
Neither Corey nor his partner chose to feel same sex attraction. Really, why would an individual
subject himself (or herserlf) to choose being shunned, misunderstood, or have
suicidal thoughts because he or she does not measure up to Club Society or the Mormon
Box? Why would one choose to be closeted
and live life in fear because the feelings and emotions that one may experience
don’t jive with what is being taught. If
one does decide to come out of the closet, he or she risks being rejected by
friends, family members, society . . . because why? Because there is that desire to be true to
oneself and to be accepted and not ridiculed for not measuring up? So they are not entititled to the same
blessings anymore? Seriously? Is that really how God works?
Stake Conference is in just a few
weeks. It is most likely that a new
president will be announced. My husband
may be considered for the position – perhaps NOT as the stake president but a
counselor maybe – though it is the president who will have to pray and find
revelation to call his own counselors – Roland is being considered.
And here I am not wanting to jeopardize
his enthusiasm but still feeling desire for Corey and others to feel more than
just a sense of belonging verbally (though many don’t even get that) – but to
continue with membership if they so desire – to be able to take the sacrament
again. Especially when they are so
strong in the gospel in Spirit – but their names have been removed, their
membership diminished. And still there are many who remain closeted and hope
the feelings will go away, that they don’t bring shame to anyone, who try to
live up to the Church’s expectations but are not happy with themselves.
It wasn’t until after I returned from my temple
recommend interview that I questioned myself – had I answered the questions honestly? I had at the time that I gave them. It came so automatic that I hadn’t questioned
it at the time of the interview. But I
suppose I do sympathize with a group whose teachings are different from what is
taught in the LDS Church.
Thus far I haven’t acted upon it – such as
campaigning for their cause by going door to door or holding picket signs or
what have you – and probably wouldn’t because of Roland’s position. He doesn’t have the same understanding that I
have acquired. And I did have to acquire
it – for I once agreed with every single message I’d received from the leaders
of the church and would ask no questions.
Now I view the homosexuals as a fellow Christian trying to save her
Jewish friends during Hitler’s reign.
Will society make the homosexuals put
bands upon their clothes – similar to the star of David (perhaps a rainbow –
God’s sign of promise) – so that we will know?
Will we all the sudden treat our family and friends like lower class
citizens – as though they are less important?
Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God. The worth of ALL souls not just straight
souls, not just green souls, not just female souls . . . . fortunately God’s worth
is so much greater than that of men. For
God is not the one who labels us and classifies us into categories of tolerance. We are all worth more to Him than men can
even comprehend.
Recently (on Youtube) I watched excerpts
of Oprah’s interview with Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka and viewed it as
such a sweet relationship and thought of what a remarkable love went in to
planning their offspring and how incredibly blessed they all are. And yet they have surely received criticism
by many who refuse to understand, who refuse to see the miracle that has taken
place between them, who view them with Pharisee eyes. I really appreciate Oprah’s
“ah’hah” moment that she shares in the last 15 seconds of this video.
A straight couple can have an unwanted baby
on accident, but a gay couple has to plan and save and jump through legal
hurdles to have a child, and so I would think there would be more love invested
in that child (or children) We’re
people. We are all people. We’re not star bellied sneetches – though many
of us act like we are.