Hey Mr Summit
Looking great. Thanks too for taking our comments on board.
I just have 4 small suggestions:
In the 7th paragraph, where you say:
“I have to say that I was surprised how weak the biblical arguments against affirming same-sex relationships were..”
Could you word it to read more clearly, such as:
“I was surprised at the weakness of biblical arguments against same-sex relationships.”
In the 8th paragraph you say:
“God loves me, and no one else’s opinion is important after that, however I am still the same person I was before I have come out to you and thus I hope someday that you will embrace my sexuality as remaining close to you means a lot to me.”
When you point out that no one else’s opinion is important, that’s not quite true otherwise you wouldn’t be writing the letter and hoping for your parents’ acceptance. It sounds like you are trying not to care what their response will be which is understandable but a little defensive. And this might make them defensive as well as not conveying the fact that you really love and value them. I’ve also changed the word ’embrace’ to ‘accept’ since I don’t know that they’re going to be able to imagine embracing homosexuality any time soon. If you lower your expectations it might have a better chance with them.
So might I suggest the following instead (and please change words like ‘precious’ if this isn’t a word you would use)?
God loves me and that is the most important thing. That said, my relationships with each of you are very precious to me and I don’t want to lose the closeness that we’ve shared. Perhaps it may help you to know that I am still the same person as before and being openly gay won’t change that. In time I hope that you will be able to accept this aspect as part of who I am and was created to be.
In the 9th paragraph you say:
“I know several great Christian gay people in loving, committed relationships who show that whilst my sexuality was not a choice, my morality is.”
I’m wondering if it might read better if you take out the ‘my’ before ‘sexuality’ and ‘morality’ so it reads as .’..who show that whilst sexuality is not a choice, morality is’. I’ve also changed the ‘was’ to ‘is’ after ‘sexuality’ so you have the same tenses. Just a thought.. And I’m curious…how have they demonstrated that to you? Or how does it relate to your life?
Lastly, I’m wondering if you’ve had a chance to imagine being your parents and receiving that letter and how they might feel. Do you imagine they might feel loved? I think that’s an important consideration because if they feel loved by you then that might make it easier for them to deal with the news. And on that note, I really like the way you’ve ended the letter. I feel the love there.
Blessings,
Ann Maree
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