Based on my response to a FB thread
about the "perfect" Mormon Mold.
Maybe we've been divorced; once, twice, or three times! *Raises hand.* Or maybe we've never married. Maybe our child is autistic and we can't stay longer than sacrament meeting because the sensory processing is on overload. Maybe we have health problems and get debilitating migraine headaches that keep us from participating. Maybe we have a child who is addicted to drugs or a husband addicted to pornography or maybe we have an eating disorder. Maybe our child died and we feel no one gets it because everyone says, "Don't be sad. You'll have him in the next life." And we want to shake them because we miss our child right now! Does that mean we have less faith just because we miss our baby now? Maybe we were molested as a child and feel like the "licked cupcake" or a "chewed-up piece of gum." Maybe we had an abusive parent and there's no way family scripture study or FHE or daily prayers were happening in our house. Maybe our son is gay and we don't know how to reconcile that with our beliefs. Maybe we gave a baby up for adoption at 17, or maybe we can't get pregnant and all this talk about having babies and eternal families makes us want to scream. Or maybe we had *all the babies* and now feel swamped and wonder how our life turned into diapers and endless soccer games and we are reeeaaallly tired. Maybe there is alcohol on our breath because we couldn't cope with last night, or there is cigarette smoke on our clothes. Maybe we haven't figured out how to stop taking prescription drugs. Maybe we feel overwhelmed with life and the idea of just home or visiting teaching sounds like climbing Mount Everest and maybe just getting out of bed does too.
Do any of these people fit into a mold? No! And yet, every one of these people is in the church. There is no perfect mold for the saints of the church. We are each individual children of God and He knows the very number of hairs on our heads. I do testify of that.
...It's all just so personal, and again, maybe I shouldn't go on like this on FB. I'm not trying to convince anyone. I guess I just want to say, I think more people have felt out of place than you might think. We're all just trying to find our way and find our place. And that is exactly why the church is for all of us. This is kind of the point. We all have broken places that need mending. We ALL need the atonement. Some are more visible and external than others in their struggles. Many people are struggling inwardly. Quietly. Yes, even secretly. I wish that the stigma was not there. But if no one speaks out and shares our broken places without shame, that stigma will never change.
So, I'm sorry for going on. This was more for me, perhaps. Like you said, not fully organized. Just trying to articulate a lot of thoughts that have been running through my head today.
Anyway, come Sunday, remember; There is always a place on the bench for you. Always.
