I was planning on a camping trip last weekend. I was packed
and ready to go as I headed off to work on Friday as once again I heard “Don’t
go camping this weekend.” Ummm. But I love camping and I want to hang out with
my friends. What am I going to do if I don’t go? (I still haven’t learned to
stop sassing my Father in Heaven.)
I ended up participating in a life changing event. I
attended
this charity event for Global Poverty. Wade and I spent the night at
the Grand America, we mingled with celebrities in the VIP room (P.S. Larry King
is short, hilarious, and has weird hair up close.) I wore a fabulous dress,
with fabulous heels and had my hair professionally done. We watched people bid
20,000 dollars on items that didn't even interest us. We looked for a while at
the Jewelry being auctioned off and agreed that even if we could afford a
97,000 dollar necklace, I should never own one because I would lose it almost immediately.
We had filet mingon and shrimp cocktails and it was all fabulously glamorous.
We were seated at a table with ladies from the organization
Backyard Broadcast. They are a group dedicated to ending sex trafficking. I
learned that three of the girls were actually girls who were victims of sex
trafficking. Born and raised in Utah and trafficked here as well. “Umm I’m
sorry, I am that totally ignorant person who thought this only happens in
Cambodia. I mean I knew it happened here too but not to Americans.” Yeah I
learned a lot that night. As Wade and I left that night we talked about how
after mingling with celebrities, we were most impressed with the beauty,
confidence, and strength of the girls we met at our table. I can’t even tell
you how much these ladies touched my heart.
“So what organization are you here with?”
“Ummm… I just know someone.”
“So you are here to donate?”
I didn't want them to know I was totally a fake. I wasn't
there to donate. I hadn't even paid for my own meal. What if they find out that
what they are spending on the cheapest auction item is more than I have ever
collectively had in my checking account at one time? I felt awful for a moment.
I wasn't there because I was changing the world. I wasn't there to donate money
to people who are changing the world. I was just there. Annie, you are nobody
special, you are a fake, you don’t belong here.
Until a voice whispered “You are here because you are
different. You are here because you unconditionally love someone who is
different from you. You love someone completely who thinks and feels
differently than you about some big issues. You are here because you live your
life free of judgment."
You see my date is gay, and I am *gasp* Mormon. Oil and
water right? Nope. We just love each other. It doesn't seem like a big deal
maybe. But for most of my gay friends I am the only Christian they have come
out to who has stayed around. And I have heard more times than I care to remember a friend say to me "You can't love me, you never really loved me. Because you are Mormon and I am gay." But we don't let difference create a division and because of that I was the “plus
one” of the most attractive and genuinely kind man in the room, and that makes us different.
I like us, and I am proud of us.
