You Are Not What They Taught You

You are not what they taught you.

You aren’t going to hell for loving somebody.

You aren’t going to hell for being born in the wrong body.

You aren’t going to hell for having an orgasm outside of wedlock.

You aren’t going to hell for taking off your clothes for the gram.

You aren’t going to hell for covering your body in black from head to toe.

You aren’t going to hell for the lingering depression you can’t seem to escape.

You aren’t going to hell for getting divorced.

You are not going to hell for rejecting their capitalism.

You are not going to hell for quitting church.

You are not going to hell for not being a Christian.

You are not going to hell.

Because the thing is, their god doesn’t exist.

The god that murders millions when humans aren’t human-ing the way he wants, and then invents rainbows.

That god is a lie.

If there is one thing I have learned about this universe, it’s that whatever holds it all together, can’t work with the shame they taught you.

Because this universe that we live in, always comes back to love, and a genocidal god cannot be love.

And if God is love, what might she really be saying to you?

She says that you are brilliant, beautiful, and magnificent inside and out.

She says that your same-sex love is perfect and there is little as pure as the light in your partners eyes when you walk into the room.

She is telling you that this body is just a vessel for your soul, and she is so proud of you for being true to yourself and also, fuck gender norms.

She is telling you consensual pleasure is a gift and the man-made social construct of marriage is not a prerequisite.

She is telling you how much joy it brings her that you are empowered in your body and it’s okay to share that empowerment with the world.

She is telling you that it fills her with peace to see you being your true self in spite of what society says you should be.

She is telling you that her heart breaks for every tear that you cry, it’s not your fault, and she is so proud of you for how far you’ve come.

She is telling you there is no shame in divorce, and you will find a happiness and freedom within yourself greater than you ever imagined

possible.

She is saying fuck capitalism, love cares for all.

She is telling you that she knows how hard it was to leave that church, but she wasn’t there, love wasn’t there, and you deserve to be surrounded by love.

She is telling you that she isn’t a Christian either.

She is showing you that she is love.

And so are you no matter what they taught you, the truth is – you my beautiful friend – deserve love, are worthy of love, are love.

* For more of Sheri Faye Rosendahl, you can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, or check out her book, Not Your White Jesus.