i am afraid to let others have a different path. (because i haven't given us all permission to be as free as we are)
i fear that it means the way my heart experiences life and God is less valid, when i am met by blank stares or "biblical" arguments against what i have known as truth. (because i haven't given us all permission to be as free as we are)
the way i have dealt with this previously has generally been to villify those who would discount my experience, to have hope that "maybe someday they'll get it", but until then, they are stuck. (because i haven't given us all permission to be as free as we are)
my husband cringes when i talk about certain people who have been important to him (us) along the spiritual journey. i caricature them and how judgmental they are, how illegitimate their ideas. i guess this all comes from being trained that there is one "absolute truth", one "right way" and we have to find it. (because i haven't given us all permission to be as free as we are)
"Do I really want the cookie-cutter approach? Do I really believe that if Jesus is the way, then our roads to get to Him must all look exactly the same? Our lives must all contain the same elements? There must be God's one way to live a good life, and the details all play out the same? If I do this, then God rewards me, and if He doesn't reward me, then I haven't performed to His liking? Is this my life to the full? Penciled-in stars?
What's inside me either matters or it doesn't. Either it is worth listening to or it isn't. Either it is worth exploring or it is worth ignoring. But the decision I make about my worth is a decision that will affect my entire life. If my story doesn't matter internally, my story won't matter to anyone else." - Mandy Steward, Thrashing about with God
no one else can decide who i am. people may have their opinions, and they may have differing views about what is important, even what is crucial.
but right now, for me, and for humankind, i can declare:
i am free
you are free
my story matters
your story matters
we have permission to be who we are, where we are, right now.