So I Was Again Asked; "What If It Was Your Kid?"

This week’s question, problem, drama, episode, smh is brought to you by no other than my own experience and interaction that I ran into that was oh-so eye-opening, upsetting, disturbing, emotional & humbling. Please say tuned because this one is sure to be a nail biter

Well Realz, I have an associate that told me this week that she must immediately start having every Sunday off because she has to make sure that her daughters attend church.  I explained to her that I could not guarantee that she had every Sunday off on the schedule. It would be unfair to all of the other associates and it would be impossible for me to build a schedule around her because we are a 24-hour day operation and it’s hard to give associates set days off. Her immediate response to me is that her children's salvation is more important than a job. I told her that I completely understand but I honestly didn’t think I would be able to work with her request seen as when she was interviewed one of the questions that she was asked was whether she had open availability.

At that point, the employee became immediately frustrated and said that she had a conversation with her younger daughter about her older daughter maybe a homosexual and she needed to immediately make sure that her daughters were going to church to be able to save her daughter's soul. So things like this wouldn’t happen. I reserved my comments out of respect for her culture as I understood that with the spiritual & cultural differences being a factor there would be a definite difference of opinion. The associate kept pressing me for an answer saying, “ What if it was your daughter, wouldn’t you do all you could to save her soul from hell?” In my country, this is a big sin I will no longer love her. I will disown her & she must leave my house immediately if this is true. By this point, I was silent & frozen and I guess she could tell that I was disheartened by the look on my face. I couldn’t reserve my comment’s anymore and she persisted to ask one more time Ms. Natasha what if it was your kid? I answered this time proudly saying actually it is my kid. I worked M-F, spent family time on Saturday & sat in church every Sunday with my family like a model Christian & my daughter is still gay & her reply was. “And you still love her?” & my reply was, “With all of my heart !” If she was a murderer it wouldn’t change my love for her. My children may upset me, do things to disappoint me as I have probably done them also, but Nothing will ever change my love for them.

I explained further that people like her use religion to make excuses in my opinion for hatred and that is not God. Because He loves everyone every sinner, murderer, drug dealer & prostitute. I said you are far from perfect but when you ask the Father for forgiveness he’s there because he loves you. Do you know how many children perish because of the reaction that you had to her maybe coming out to you? She said that she never heard of that so I googled it for her.

1 in every 3 children that come out to their parents perish by their own hands because of their parent's reaction. She began to weep and say that the way she was raised she never understood this & she immediately left to go to pick her daughter up from school. The next morning when the associate arrived at work she explained to me that this was her last day of work here & what had transpired the day before. As she went to pick her daughter up she told her that she loved her and apologized for their interaction the night before she told her that she loved her no matter what. Her daughter asked if she was sure & began to cry when she reassured her that she loved her. she explained to her mother that she was trying to hang on until the end of the school year but due to yesterday’s interaction she was prepared to end her life today after school. Her mother asked her if she was joking because. Saying why would you do that, she told her mom, we have no one in this country or our lives but you & you told me that you no longer love me. If I don’t have you I have no reason to be here. So I wrote a letter on my computer giving my things away to my sisters so they wouldn’t argue over my stuff & tonight I would go to sleep & it would be over. She showed her mother the letter on the computer and they had what mom explained to me as the 1st talk ever. She met her daughter that evening they talked, they cried, and she reassured her that she loved her. Mom was exhausted and afraid to go to sleep in fear of what could have happened. They still have a long road of healing ahead, but Realz I would say at least now they are on a road.

Please tap in tribe this one was emotionally exhausting!