We all know how Rosie feels about Christians. The reason for the title of this post is that my Mother was what Rosie would call one of those “dangerous” fundamentalists.
My Mother had a a friend, a co-worker, who was gay. She ate lunch with him and they talked every day. She knew what he was, gay, and he knew what she was, a Christian. My Mother prayed every night for her friend. Not that he’d give up being gay but because his life was a living hell. In general. She felt sorry for him and felt compassion for him. My Mother treated him with respect and at one point said she felt as if he were a son.
One day she invited him to our home and I was there while they talked. I saw how she treated him. I saw how she wept when he wept about his life. Remember he knew what she was and she knew what he was. I don’t recall her pulling a gun and pointing it at his head and demanding that he give up his lifestyle and convert to Christianity on the spot. My Mother was a true believer. She believed in looking at people thru Christs eyes. She loved people as Jesus loved them. She didn’t berate people, she didn’t force her beliefs on people, she loved people, and went out of her way to help people in whatever way she could.
I guess Rosie would have thought my Mother was dangerous. She was one of those “fundamentalists” that Rosie seems to think are out to destroy her life. Poor Rosie, in her narrow way of thinking she’d miss out on knowing people who are some of the nicest in the world. I feel sorry for Rosie. It must be difficult to be such a bigot. It must be hard to live life when you’re bitter and closed minded. When you’re so afraid of people who are different than you are. Unlike my Mother the Fundamentalist. You see Rosie didn’t see what happened at the end of that visit that day. I did.
I watched as my Mother got up and opened her arms and hugged her friend. I watched as they cried and held onto each other. I watched as she wiped away his tears as if he were her child and told him that she loved him. I watched as she told him he was in her thoughts and prayers every day. I watched as her friend smiled and thanked her and told her he loved her.
I would rather see the world thru my Mother’s eyes than to view the world as Rosie does.