I never saw the original viewing of Adam’s story – had heard about it – but missed it. The following were just a few of my thoughts during and after I watched it, and even some of the conclusions that I had come to before – but which were confirmed yet again for me yesterday.
So, yes, I was watching it yesterday afternoon – I just had to watch it once I realised it was on again. It is definitely a very moving story – one which so many of us can relate to. And yes, I had a bit of a cry in certain parts of it. :((
I suppose we all express our denial in some way, even to the point of an ‘angry’ or ‘defiant’ denial – as he did to his parents or to the other guy at the gay bar when confronted with the question or someone within the gay community. It makes you wonder – who are we hiding from? Ourselves? or Others? or both?
In so many ways, the ‘Coming out’ journey is as much about our accepting ‘ourselves’ as it is about others (family, friends, strangers, work collegues) accepting us. And sometimes, it is not in that particular order. Adam’s mother’s response to him, when he told her he was gay, was ‘he lied to me before when he told me he wasn’t gay’ and ‘I was afraid that he would change, or his life would take a different direction’ was particularly real to myself.
And then when his father said, ‘if I had known when he was in his adolscence, I could have been there, given him someone to talk to’ – well, those comments and the fact that his father’s eyes welled up with tears. That one just made me blubber. :((
Anyway, it was an amazing story. The journalist in the story, actually talked about teen suicide, and how with Adam sharing his story, it can help us know that we are not alone – that there others who have either walked the same or very similar paths, and that being GLBT is not about being a ‘stereotype’ – but being ourselves.
Freedom2Be is a forum where we can feel safe, and know that we are reading the comments and stories of people who understand and know where we are at, and who will encourage us to explore who we are with honesty and courage – to meet ourselves – to accept ourselves, and to know that God hasn’t put an obstacle in our lives, that stops his love and stops us having a meaningful relationship with him. 🙂
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