Such a sweet example or wrestling. Speaking of wrestling, I brought up this same struggle to Rabbi Noah last scripture circle, telling him of my triggers from convos with my small town former “friends” out here in MAGAland. I asked Noah if he thinks I’m not trying hard enough to engage as my husband does with the same population. I appreciated his answer, as he quoted Ecclesiastes : “there is a time to embrace, and a time not to embrace”. I felt so heard and relieved. I’m sure it’s different if the struggle is with family, though.
Thank you for sharing, Katie. If there's any way I could be helpful for yourself or those in your community, let me know. I've been sifting through this in my own heart and with others for quite some time and I love to see glimpses of liberation.
Ryan, I resonate so deeply with this. To know that you no longer belong with those who you thought you'd always belong to is jarring. And, yes, the deep grief of the could-have-been-ness of it all w/MAGA family overwhelms and makes us feel unsafe, unsure, and unloved. It's about losing our belonging, isn't it? But, also telling our 15 year old selves, maybe 100 times a day, "You are safe now. You are loved now. You belong here."
Thanks a lot, Linz. I feel the solidarity in this and your last line of messaging to the young self just made me a bit misty eyed. Thank you for the hard and good work you've done and continue to do!
Wow, I loved this piece. It reminded me a lot of the idea of a kind of fluidity of belonging that I explore in my piece "On The Question Of Religion" but approached in a different way. I've come to feel that grief and tension is a sacred human experience, and you've done a good job capturing it. If you're interested, I'd love for you to check out my piece :) https://onreligion.substack.com/p/on-the-question-of-religion
Thank you, RT. I needed to hear this as there is once again distance in a family relationship that was starting to feel more communicative. It all boils down to the damn "inerrancy of scripture", and you can't get past it. Time for some distance instead of the usual fawning.
I’m very sorry to hear it, T. But I’m glad we can commiserate together. It so often seems to come down to “book people” and “relationship people.” We drive cars, drink coffee, and eat tacos, none of which are biblical.
Such a sweet example or wrestling. Speaking of wrestling, I brought up this same struggle to Rabbi Noah last scripture circle, telling him of my triggers from convos with my small town former “friends” out here in MAGAland. I asked Noah if he thinks I’m not trying hard enough to engage as my husband does with the same population. I appreciated his answer, as he quoted Ecclesiastes : “there is a time to embrace, and a time not to embrace”. I felt so heard and relieved. I’m sure it’s different if the struggle is with family, though.
I love that, LO. Good for me to hear, once again, that time is way more expansive than I typically imagine it. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this, Ryan. I think everyone in my current faith community will relate to this, as I do. I'll post it on our Discord site.
Thank you for sharing, Katie. If there's any way I could be helpful for yourself or those in your community, let me know. I've been sifting through this in my own heart and with others for quite some time and I love to see glimpses of liberation.
Ryan, I resonate so deeply with this. To know that you no longer belong with those who you thought you'd always belong to is jarring. And, yes, the deep grief of the could-have-been-ness of it all w/MAGA family overwhelms and makes us feel unsafe, unsure, and unloved. It's about losing our belonging, isn't it? But, also telling our 15 year old selves, maybe 100 times a day, "You are safe now. You are loved now. You belong here."
Thanks a lot, Linz. I feel the solidarity in this and your last line of messaging to the young self just made me a bit misty eyed. Thank you for the hard and good work you've done and continue to do!
Wow, I loved this piece. It reminded me a lot of the idea of a kind of fluidity of belonging that I explore in my piece "On The Question Of Religion" but approached in a different way. I've come to feel that grief and tension is a sacred human experience, and you've done a good job capturing it. If you're interested, I'd love for you to check out my piece :) https://onreligion.substack.com/p/on-the-question-of-religion
Thank you, RT. I needed to hear this as there is once again distance in a family relationship that was starting to feel more communicative. It all boils down to the damn "inerrancy of scripture", and you can't get past it. Time for some distance instead of the usual fawning.
I’m very sorry to hear it, T. But I’m glad we can commiserate together. It so often seems to come down to “book people” and “relationship people.” We drive cars, drink coffee, and eat tacos, none of which are biblical.