"Be a Light" copyright 2025 by Emily Bowen. All Rights Reserved. I grew up in the Adventist church in the 1990’s. I turned five a few months after that decade started and was old enough to remember some of the more hurtful rhetoric pushed by “devout” Christians, but still young enough to be impressionable. I had Ellen G. White and last day events shoved down my throat for the next 35 years. Of course it didn’t stop with just those topics. I was told that the Pope and Catholics were the “little horn” found in prophecy. That they would bring about the Sunday law and persecute devout Adventists. I was told that democrats were socialist and communists. I was told that gays were the most sinful of all. I was told a lot of stuff by those within our church that were tasked with teaching us about the love of Jesus. The thing is, as I got older, I started meeting the sinful “undesirables” that my church had warned me about. And I learned that they weren’t anything like what I was to...
When I was growing up, I was taught that . . . Trees are Green Roses are Red Sky is Blue Barns are Red Clouds are White Flowers are Yellow Violets are Blue My crayon and marker drawings stayed true, until my parents enrolled me in a two week summer painting class. Our teacher (bless his heart) was very traditional and always said "like so" after every instruction. Apparently, I was the rebellious child and he saw it as his duty to curve my unruly artistic ways. "Barns are not green ." He emphasized the last word as he studied my masterpiece. Our assignment had been to copy his painting. The rest of the class had done just that—and to them he gave praise. But as I was dutifully coping his painting, I decided that a red barn would blend in with the burnt umber treeline. And so, mine was green. It was my first artistic rebellion, but it was most certainly not my last. Trees are Whimsical Roses are Elegent Sky is my Backdrop Barns Protect ...
Copyright 2024 by Emily Bowen, all rights reserved The grief is strong like the death of a friend Today I mourn for what we have lost We failed our daughters and ourselves We let hate win But we are not going back That is why I am allowing myself to grieve Because I have already walked through this darkness I have seen personally what happens when people put a man above God I have felt the despair and the anguish I did not leave my former church because I wanted to I was pushed out By the pastor and those that supported him The act of leaving cost me everything It took away my church family It took away friendships ...
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