Mom & Dad - part 2

This Little Light of Mine - LGBTQ, Christianity, religious trauma, mental health

Hello and welcome to Episode 28 of This Little Light Of Mine. My name is James Powell and I’m glad that you’re able to join me for the second part of my interview with my parents.

If you haven’t already listened to the first part of our conversation, I would encourage you to hop back one episode so that you have the chance to catch our full conversation.

The response to Ep27 and the first part of our chat has been overwhelming, affirming, and eye-opening. Thank you for sharing so much of your raw emotion, personal reflections, and insights with me.

Families truly are some of the most complicated relationships that we have. AND these relationships can be up, down, and all over the place.

Trust me, the relationships within our family are constantly in flux and we’re all slowly learning that part of being human is to embrace this discomfort.

Sitting down with my parents like this I heard some of the words that I’ve been waiting to hear for my entire life.

I am so incredibly proud of the vulnerability, honesty, strength, and love that my parents brought into this conversation. I’m also proud that I was able to bring the same. As I listened back and editing these episodes, I was blown away at how we all showed up.

A HUGE thank you to my parents for opening up and joining me for this conversation. I almost didn’t ask you because I assumed your answer would be no. I’m glad I didn’t listen to that fearful voice. Thank you for your vulnerability, your courage, your support, and your love. There have been a handful of times where I’ve felt your love and support for WHO I am as a person and this is one of them. Thank you for seeing me, for loving me, and for living together with me in our world of gray.

Here are some of the references my parents shared during our conversation:

Cross in the Closet - Timothy Kurek

For the Bible Tells Me So - Daniel Karslake

Boy Erased - with Lucas Hedges, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe

Matthew Shepard Story

And thank you to all of you who have been listening along, sharing your thoughts, opinions, and challenges with me as each of you learn to navigate, live, grow, and thrive within our many shades of gray. I’d like to invite each of you back in two weeks’ time for the last episode of S01 of This Little Light Of Mine.

In my final story episode of the season, I come full circle and I talk about some of the uncomfortable events in my professional, personal, and spiritual life that helped me to hit bottom and break open so that I could finally start to see and to remember the light inside of me that has always been shining bright.

Until then. Wherever you are on this journey, know that you are loved unconditionally by God who made you exactly as you are.

You are created for spiritual growth that embraces your full humanity. You are designed to learn, grow, thrive, and evolve, even if that process causes you some awkward and uncomfortable growing pains.

You are loved.

James