We are like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be gathered up. But God will not take away a life; God will devise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from God's presence.

2 Samuel 14:14 (NRSV)

High school was a painful time for me. I was one of those kids who was always picked last for sports games in P.E., never fit in with the "in" crowd, and was banished to hang out with the "burners" or "misfits."

I was hurt by the rejection of my more popular peers, but I found a real kinship with many of the outcasts that I was forced to spend time with. Many of those misfits were very deep, mentally and spiritually. I found fewer games and "lookist" attitudes among the misfits. We clung together in a world that told us we were not worthy of respect or friendship from the "popular" majority.

Being the misfit can either strengthen you or it can kill you. We've seen this in the gay and lesbian community. Either we fight for the right to be seen as one of God's creatures, equal in every way, or we give up our spirituality, and search for fulfillment in all the wrong places like sex, drugs or alcohol.

In a world that thrives on who is "in" and who is "out" it's nice to be reminded that in God there are finally no outcasts. We, as gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered Christians have long been the world's outcasts. Hear the good news! God promises us acceptance, even when the church hands us cruel rejection.

Remember, we are promised that God will "divise plans so as not to keep an outcast banished forever from God's presence." Rejoice, knowing that God has a plan to bring us back into the fold. We are God's children, believers with the same birthright as those who are now the "popular" majority.

Blessings,
Candace