good deeds ~ it gets better

some friends of mine made an it gets better video, sharing their personal experiences with coming out as
gay and lesbian, and transitioning to the opposite gender.  this particular video is focused on surviving the hardships of coming out within a religious community, specifically the seventh-day adventist church.
this is the religion i grew up in, although i am no longer a part of it.  like most other religions, there are many church members who are strongly against being gay or lesbian, to the point of extreme rejection, shame, and abuse.  i feel really fortunate, however, to have befriended the most loving, accepting, and supportive seventh-day adventists of the crop, and i'm so happy that my gay, lesbian, and transgendered friends have finally found safe communities where they can embrace their spirituality just as they are.  

sharing painful experiences like these can be terrifying to say the least.  i am blown away by their courage to open themselves up to the world in an effort to provide someone out there on the other end of the interweb with hope. these videos are tremendously powerful, and they've got me thinking - what sorts of hope can i spread to others?

i think it's important to be open about the hardships we've been through in our lives.  after we have come to that point where we are fully healed from it, we are often able to look back and identify ways we learned and grew from the struggle.  but if we are willing to share these hard times with others, think of how many more positive things could come from our difficult experiences!  being open about your past is a tremendously personal way of helping others, so make sure you are in a healthy place to handle it.  but i do hope you will consider sharing your struggles when the time is right with someone who could really benefit from it.
life really does get better, but with that support from someone who understands, the hard times
will get better just a little faster.