Happy National Coming Out Day! - Whitney Easton Is Silent No More

www.ourlgbtstories.com


 


Happy National Coming Out Day (NCOD)! To everyone who took the
leap of faith and came out, congratulations to you! Today you did
something courageous and exciting. Proclaiming who you love may
it be someone specific that you're revealing or gender in
general, I am proud of you!


For those of you who are not coming out today, I am also proud of
you. Making a decision for yourself to stay closeted is also a
huge decision to make. We might not know your reasons for it, but
I chose to believe that you have very valid ones. I want to make
sure that you know that there is space for you in this world to
operate and be as unseen or low-key as you would like to be. When
so many people today are waving the pride flag bright and high in
the sky, there can be a lot of pressure to come out of the closet
before you're actually ready. Not giving in to peer pressure, or
the influence of society to do that is commendable and equally as
courageous. I hope you know this too. Knowing who you are inside,
even if only to yourself, is also a really great gift to
yourself.


While today is Friday and we usually have a First Kiss Friday
story for you, it's also NCOD. I felt it special to share
someones coming out story with you all today! That is where my
dear friend Whitney Easton comes into light. Whitney and I are
very close friends. We talk just about every day of the week. She
is one of the people in my life that I can call in tears, or full
of laughs - she holds space for each for me. Having friends that
offer this in the relationship is invaluable, I encourage you all
to find that. Whitney is a Los Angeles based writer. She founded
Wisdom With Whit, her freelance writing business where she writes
about life, wellness, wholeness, and now, coming out of the
closet in her 30s.


One thing that brought Whitney and me together the most I would
have to say is that we are both LGBTQ Christians. What's that
mean? Well, it's straightforward. We both identify as LGBTQ, and
we are both Christians.


Here's the thing, though; when she and I met, she wasn't out at
the time. I just knew that I had a friend who was a Christian and
accepted me just as I was. Gay as ever... and I love God. I
hadn't had any idea that this relationship I was benefiting from
was also providing support for Whitney. I had merely been being
myself, my vulnerable, authentic self. Isn't it amazing what is
being woven together as we allow ourselves to be seen by others?
Something takes place without us controlling the ship. The waves
of life just do their thing.


As I said, Whitney is a writer, and recently came out to a few
friends of hers (myself obvi included). She hadn't officially
posted anything online or made any public statement about it
until yesterday. That's when her article "I'm an LGBTQ Christian
and I'm Ready to Start Talking" was released on the popular
website "Medium." A subsidiary of Medium, "Our Human Family,"
commissioned her to write the piece. And my God, did she do the
damn thing! This article is amazing! She speaks about her
frustrations around the intersection of homosexuality and
Christianity (something that often comes up on our show). What
really moved me was where Whitney end's on her current
relationship with God. And that, I will give you the gift of
hearing for yourself.


 


Read Whitney's article online here http://bit.ly/2IHqQtT


Connect with Whitney online
http://www.instagram.com/wisdomwithwhit


Whitney's website is https://www.wisdomwithwhit.com/


 


One Human Family has more articles from more writers
here https://medium.com/our-human-family


 


Follow LGBT Stories on Instagram at
http://www.instagram.com/ourlgbtstories


Follow Kevin Gerdes on Instagram at
http://www.instagram.com/kevingerdes


 


Donate and shop at www.ourlgbtstories.com