Pro-Acceptance

      Here's the deal right now: there's a lot of religion happening in the church right now. Please don't take offense or anything like that, just hear out my response.
      My response says pain: look at me and tell me I'm enough. Tell me that Jesus loves me even though I live my everyday full of sin. Please don't condemn me or make me feel like I'm "wrong" for fumbling. Why do I feel the need to hide my issues from the people who are supposed to love me through them? When I'm feeling depressed and tell my Pastor that I'm fine, it shows me that we've portrayed something wrong. that something got missed in the community side of our church. When I am wondering what drugs or sex might be like, who's there to tell me I need to think through it. Who's going to ask me if all is well?
      My response says rebel: If you don't think I'm good enough, then why should I even bother? What difference does it make if I follow your rules or not? Clearly it's going to be a close call whether I "make it" or not. Might as well just settle that one. What does it matter if I show up or not? Why would I get ready and go somewhere that I don't even want to be. It all does me no good anyway.
      My response says distance: I'm not going to go somewhere that doesn't accept me and doesn't think the things I do are meeting "quota," because that's not what it's even about. I may be a kid who doesn't know much, but I know enough that I won't sit here and listen to your religion. I want something more then you're giving, and I will go find it somewhere else.

      Here's the deal. I don't think this is such a rare occasion. If I forgot to read my Bible one day I would get down on myself. If I didn't respond right, I'd be down on myself. Anything that wasn't perfect or up to "performance level," it didn't matter what it was and I was always down on myself.
       Am I against the church in all of this, no. I'm against pain, rebellion, distance. But really it's about what I'm for. I'm pro-acceptance. Pro-encouragement. Pro-love. And most of all, I am pro-raw-beautiful-vulnerable-people. I just want you to know today that whatever you did, done, or will do--it's okay. Simple as that. I don't care that you've done things, but I do care about you. As long as you know that I will make mistakes--I will probably mess up a lot, and I want that to be okay in this world full of judgement and chaos--and as long as I know this grace thing goes both ways, don't you think it could work? Just a thought.