Still You

Long time no Read! Not really….actually, long time no review. I have been reading but not reviewing and the book I just completed deserves a review. My prayer today is that, after reading this review, you will consider picking this book up at your local library or bookstore and reading it as well.

Why, you ask? Well, this is a subject very near and dear to me. You see I have a gay son. My beautiful JP is gay. Does this define JP? Nope! Does being heterosexual define you? No! JP is still JP no matter who JP is in love with ,drawn to, or desires. Nothing changes. Unless, of course, you think you are God, and here is the hard truth….nothing changes for God.

He made JP as JP is. The beautiful, talented, caring, young man, who is a light in this world. And if you are gay, trans, bi, heterosexual, pan, lesbian…heck, I have to be honest I don’t know all the labels because they don’t matter…what matters is who you are as a human. Bottom line, what REALLY matters is, God made these humans with all these labels as they are and loves them as much as he loves the beautiful blonde drawn to the fat bald man….we don’t decide who is drawn to who.

Today’s blog is not primarily about JP and his story. However, now that JP is over 18 you will see more talk of this, simply so we can be a source of hope for anyone who feels alone, different, full of shame, full of questions, and not loved.

Rather, today’s blog will dive into the book Still Stace by Stacey Chomiak. What a book! So beautifully written. So much so that I found myself crying and praying JP never had these feelings she so poignantly described.

Feelings of, “Why me God?” Feelings of, “Can I pray this gay away, and when I do continue to pray, and the gay doesn’t stray, why?….what does that mean?” Was my JP thinking, “Does God hear me? Does God see me? Does God care? Why am I different?” So many unanswered and weighty questions.

Have you ever thought, “Why me God? Why did you put this on me?” Can you imagine being a kid realizing raised in a Christian home, where it is taught that God is a God of love, yet because you are attracted to the same sex you fear you are considered a disappointment to God? Your attraction is an expression of love, so can you imagine how confusing that must be? Why is it not ok to love someone of the same sex but it is ok to love a drunk, a prostitute, a gambler, a broke, uneducated fisherman, a leper, a tax collector….sound familiar….this is who Jesus loved. Don’t you think he would extend the same love to all! I do. I believe it with all my heart and soul.

It breaks my heart that kids are bullied by their peers, by adults, even by those they love, because of who they love. If it breaks your heart too, grab this book! This book will show you things you probably have not taken the time to think about. I know it did for me. It will show you how people who are attracted to the same sex really struggle with the fear of being alone or isolated. It will show you how they are not harmful they just want to love like you and I do. This book will show you the true heartache that comes with growing up gay and being gay in a world of self-righteous people who THINK they know what God would do. God created the gay, the drunk, the prostitute, me, JP, you, Stacey, and all of us. God sees each of us and loves us right where we are no matter who we are attracted to.

So this book, this book is GREAT book for you to read if anyone in your life is gay. This book is a great book for you to read if you have a friend who is gay. This book is great for you to read if YOU are gay. This book is great book for you to read if you have a friend with a child or a loved one who is gay. Everyone should read Still Stace so maybe we can, collectively, find a way of discipleship and love for all.

This book opens your eyes to the many emotions one struggles with when being gay, such as confusion and loneliness. While you will never walk in their shoes, I firmly believe this book will give you a taste of how isolating it can be when you think the loved ones, friends, and worst of all God does not see you for who you really are, and if they did they would be disgusted, ashamed, and appalled. There can be an absolute fear of them not loving you, truly loving you.

Can you imagine what it is like to go through life being something you are not just to please those who are suppose to love you unconditionally? I, for one, cannot and my heart hurts for those who are out there living like this.

I want to challenge you to go and get this book. Read it. Pray on it. And what you will find is while you may never agree on the gay Christian issue, there is a way to still love one another and do life together the best you can. As Stacey so beautiful said, “Some relationships are worth holding the tension and learning what it means to love each other while strongly holding different beliefs.” That right there is a good dose of medicine I think our entire world needs…

So Stacey, thank you for this heartfelt, vulnerable, story. One that opened up even more conversations for me with my beautiful JP and one that has me even more ready to love harder. Thank you for this gift!

To all who read this, I will put a link to the book here and my prayer is you get yourself a copy and anyone in your life who you think could benefit. I bet there are more than you know…..

Until next time,

XO,

Amy

Link to the book here: Still Stace and if you want to get to know the Author you can follow her on instagram She has been so amazing and kind to me! So much so, that, I think we might even do some lives here in the very near future! So go give her a follow and show her some love!