Grace

“When Sunday came, after a week filled with so much horrific news, I stood before my congregation and spoke with a voice shaking with love. “You are not an ‘issue,’ ” I said, almost pleading for them to hear me. “You are not a mistake. You are not anything but what your God has created you to be. I will stand by you. We will stand by each other. And there is a source for all the love we need, a source for all the bravery we need. There is a source for all the defiance we need, and that source is not our ability to be right about everything; it is not the purity of our politics. The source of our defiance comes from the very same source that five young women in Egypt drew upon as they fought for freedom. That source is the God of Shiphrah and Puah.” And one more thing: Underestimate girls and trans folks and immigrants at your peril. We are totally a threat. God has sprinkled midwives and Pharaoh’s daughters and other holy people all over the place whose job is to birth life from death.”
― Nadia Bolz-Weber, Shameless: A Case for Not Feeling Bad About Feeling Good