One August morning in 2004, after three devastating miscarriages and a complicated pregnancy requiring four hospitalizations and home healthcare, our daughter Jenna was born. I remember my exact words the first time someone placed her in my arms: “Thank you, God, for this beautiful baby.” We had thought for so long there would be no second baby for us, so the first few months of Jenna’s life, I kept staring into her eyes and touching her face to convince myself she was actually real. She’s almost 20 now, and that feeling of awe has never gone away. Jenna was fearfully and wonderfully made–exactly the way she is.
The Christian life offers a number of things that are not easy for people who choose it, but for me, celebrating Pride Month is not one of them. I love Pride Month. I love the parades, the celebrations, and the emphasis on LGBTQIA+ people and their history. I love the bright, rainbow colors everywhere, and I love the exuberance of this vibrant, fearfully-and-wonderfully-made community of people.
I’ve been thinking about why I, as a Christian, celebrate Pride with the LGBTQIA+ community, and here are my thoughts:
Because I learned to listen. I used to think I had to have all the right things to say, but I let that go, and instead, began listening to my LGBTQIA+ friends and family members. I listened to their stories of their struggles, hurts, hopes, and joys. I listened to them talk about who they truly are. Listening is one of the best ways to love someone, and through listening, my heart grew in a desire to love and celebrate these people who are precious to me.
Because I learned to end my sentences correctly. When I think about the LGBTQIA+ people in my life, I have no room for “I love you, but…” or “I love you if…” Love needs no qualifiers. “I love you” is not only a complete sentence. It’s a complete story, and a complete truth.
Because I understand God as love and following Jesus as living out that love. Our job is to live out the love of God to everyone in our lives. For me, celebrating Pride Month is one way to do that.
Because I understand the beauty of God’s creation. I understand this because I have held my children in my arms and stared into their faces. Someone created in God’s image will always possess that beauty and wonder regardless of who they love or the pronouns they use. “Fearfully and wonderfully made” is permanent and cannot change.
Because Pride Month means something beautiful. At my first Pride event several years ago, I was absolutely overwhelmed by the utter joy radiating from the people surrounding me. Some of them had never been accepted or unconditionally loved by their own families, yet in this environment, they were being completely loved and celebrated for who they really were–some of them for the very first time in their lives. This was a deeply moving thing for me to witness, and it’s something I always want to be part of.
My favorite reason for celebrating Pride Month is the face I stared into that August morning. Jenna is creative, kind, and compassionate. She is everything the world needs more of. We loved everything about her the day she was born, and we still do–almost 20 years later.
Pride Month–what a beautiful thing to celebrate!
-By Deana Nall