Gender Identities

And he made each one in his own likeness.  --Genesis 1:25-26

Daisy Jane

by America

LISTEN HERE

Flyin' me back to Memphis
Gotta find my Daisy Jane
Well the summer's gone
And I hope she's feelin' the same

Well, I just left her to roam the city

Thinkin' it would ease the pain
I'm a crazy man
And I'm playin' my crazy game
Does she really love me?
I think she does
Like the stars above me, I know because
When the sky is bright
Everything's alright

Flyin' me back to Memphis
Honey keep the oven warm
All the clouds are clearin'
And I think we're over the storm

Well I've been pickin' it up around me
Daisy I think I'm sane
Well I'm awful glad
And I guess you're really to blame, blame

Do you really love me?
I hope you do
Like the stars above me, how I love you
When it's cold at night
Everything's all right

Does she really love me?
I think she does
Like the stars above me, I know because
When the sky is bright
Everything's alright

Today's media is all ablaze with reports of which public restrooms are one to use; who will put what signage where? There is an increased perception that humans, made in the image of the Divine Creator are, maybe, not so divine after all. Maybe they're off kilter, mixed-up; it's become quite political. What ever spiritual base it may have is unclear to many these days. Is an individual life, a struggle, confusion towards what is and what is not? Is it like Daisy Jane?

Ms. Schick, American author, Christian writer, speaker and the daughter of a man whom she describes as suffering from Gender Identity Disorder, the result being that he viewed himself not as the Divine did create, but rather as female. For the writer and her family, they came under a great deal of challenge and discord. She writes now of it in several of her books; most recently, Understanding Gender Confusion.

She writes largely from personal experience, from what she has learned and from a primary view of catholic, Christian faith. Regardless of what side of the fence one resides, her experiences are validly her own.
As Christians we are called to love our neighbors as our self, and to give expression to the dignity of all Creation. The prime concern she writes, is to address the pain and confusion of these souls, saying there is in each case, a primary disconnect, "a psychological separation from one's true existence."

She writes also that God the Creator is indeed "very interested in all aspects of our lives."

Matthew 12:10; Luke 6:20 

Talking to You, Please!

No Light, No Light

by  Florence Welch, Florence and the Machine
LISTEN HERE

...Would you leave me

 if I told you what I'd done?

 Would you leave me

   if I told you what I'd become?...

  

Sometimes, sometimes often, we find ourself at odds with others. It could be about any number of reasons-- or no real reason at all. It's just that their point of view doesn't match up with ours. We find ourselves at odds. We love our friends and family but can't bring ourselves to admit to them something they see from another point of view puts us off; we feel anxiety and lack of acceptance because their attitude differs from our own. Are we traitors to the cause? Have we failed to come clean? Do we fear a lack of acceptance, or worse, a lack of response at all? Have we concealed our attitudes and opinions to 'keep the peace'?

When threatened or threatening to others by these types of unexpected finds or disclosures, many are inclined to react negatively as if duped or betrayed. We think, "How could you? I could never accept something like that! You-- you never told me that! Can't you think? What else are you keeping to yourself, or keeping from me?!"

Suddenly there is a point of view, a policy, a position we feel must be defended. And often we take to defense at all costs, alienating our most important others because of truths we can't bear to hear. In our protests, our indignation, rejections, we may well feel we're letting our real, true self out and airing what we know is a line in the sand that must be drawn. But nothing could be further from the truth! We aren't just letting our true colors be known, we aren't just sticking up for ourselves.

Our dearly held points of view have turned others into enemies; our friendship falls away, forgotten. Why? Because when what we're feeling most intensely as 'our point of view,' what we hope to impose upon others forms a sort of strait jacket. The you, the personal you is lost, bound up into a position, a point of view. How can we interact, confide what matters most to our hearts when demoted to a nameless, faceless 'you'?

Taking it back to the point of recognition of a real, personal you, we find our self and our heart. It is here where we can tell about our concerns, acknowledge our misgivings; and recognize you, like I may be alike in most ways and different in a few others.
As often is the case, it's not the subject one engages with, it's how that makes all the difference.