Hello Joanne!
I have desired to write to you for many years. Ever since I read the first Harry Potter book. Admittedly, I was not part of the target audience. I was in my 50s. Still, I was hooked by the magical world that you created. I and my daughter, also an adult, waited with bated breath for each new episode as you wove strands magic from that Great River of Creativity that flows through the universe into a new magical world where the impossible becomes, not only possible, but reality. How could I not be captured by that? For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
I also want to note your works of charity and benevolence. I was adopted at the age of 6 months. During extremely important first months I was in an institution. Of course, I don’t remember that. However, not having the love and nurture that a child requires during those months did leave its mark. Some things cannot be undone. I was fortunate. I was embraced by warm and caring people who were unable to conceive their own child. So, became the first of two blessed souls who would live with a new family name, a new history, and a new hope. I do hope and pray that Lumos continues to work and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. Weaving together hope and unity in families is a truly noble work. Your conceiving Volant Charitable Trust is also a mark of your warm and caring heart. Those who are the most vulnerable and at risk need the support of people with means, like you. Thank you so very much for these and other works of benevolence that find their root and home in your heart.
I, like you, think that every child, every life, has a right to live, thrive, and find joy. Our lives on this planet truly are too short. To acknowledge and allow others who don’t have our privilege to continue in disadvantage is a grievous sin. That’s why we work to tirelessly to give these others hope. Isn’t it?
All of this leads me to scratch my head, Jo. (You don’t mind if I call you Jo, do you?) Yeah, scratching my head at your apparent lack of knowledge about humanity and the human condition. You seem to see many things that are good and necessary. But, only in part. Please, if you will indulge me for a moment. Perhaps I can explain.
We both read and accept the Holy Bible as Sacred Writ. The stories and tales that were written so many centuries ago still have a hold on our hearts and minds. They tell us of God’s relating to the Cosmos, in particular, humanity. I love the arch of God’s faithfulness to the World from the beginning of relationship through to the culmination in the life, death, and resurrection of Messiah Jesus. How wonderful is that? Truly a story of hope for all people.
Have you ever read Psalm 139? In that psalm are some of the most beautiful words ever written. The psalmist wrote,
“For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well.”
Aren’t those words beautiful. They inspire awe at the Majesty and Goodness of our God. May His Name be Praised! The thought that God sees us as we are secretly formed in the darkness of the womb. That God Most High is Present as the knitting takes place creating from nothing a true work of art and beauty! Who can comprehend such a thing?
My daughter is an avid knitter. She concentrates on the task with the focus of a surgeon, fingers moving deftly. Each stitch given a purpose and place within the whole. It’s truly a joy to watch the magic happen as strands of yarn become a whole piece composed of countless thousands of such stitches. Sometimes, however, a stitch may be dropped. Or, perhaps, that ‘knit one; pearl two’ is transposed to ‘knit two, pearl one.” It happens. Or, maybe when one color gives way to another, this new color is added one stitch too soon or too late? That, too, happens.
How would that look in our psalmists view? A dropped stitch? Perhaps that would result in a child born with Downs Syndrome or cleft palate. Starting a color in the wrong place? A child born without a limb or a brain that never developed. Does that make that child any less a work of wonder? Have you ever looked into the face of a Downs child? Truly you are looking into the face of God! We cherish these folks. They are truly God’s Children. No less than you or me. I’m sure that you agree.
Did you know that there are children who are born truly androgynous? Born with two complete sets of genitals, one female, the other male? What happens to such a child? Well, usually the parents and doctor make a decision. They choose one gender over the other. But, what if they choose wrong? Will not that young girl grow up trapped in a body that is not hers? Is their no hope or respite for her? I’m sure that you can see the injustice of such a thing. Such a person, fearfully and wonderfully made must be able to sprout her wings and fly freely among the clouds!
But, Jo, what if that dropped stitch involved a persons heart and mind? What if the person is born with differences in the unseen realm? I’m quite sure that a person with a fertile imagination as you can visualize such a thing. Perhaps a different way that hormones work their magic on the development of the person could result in a person who has the character of a saint. Or, not. Could not such a fearfully and wonderfully made person be born whose affections are different than yours or mine? What if that young girl’s body doesn’t produce estrogen as it should as she grows and matures? She, too, might find herself trapped in the wrong kind of body. One which denies the reality of who she KNOWS that she is? Are we so omniscient that we can see and understand and render judgment on such a person? That we can judge with impunity her own experience? My dearest Joanne, I can’t imagine the arrogance that it would take to be that person. And, yet, you have deigned to be that judge. Even with all of the gifts that you have been given, intelligence, imagination, wealth, and privilege, you cannot seem to see that these other people have received different kinds of gifts. Where I live, many Native American nations consider these ‘Two Spirit’ people. They are revered and honored because they have the gift of seeing things in two worlds. I like that, don’t you?
I guess, Jo, that my point is who are we to judge that which has been created in the image of God? What right do we have to deny the reality that so many millions of our fellow humans live? Does a trans woman in Mexico really affect you? Are we not fellow passengers in this life? I suppose the bottom line is, Please, Jo! Knock this shit off. You are consciously hurting others. Other human beings who are simply trying to live their own lives.
Affectionately,
Mike
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