Parents of LGTB, Let's Stick Together!

Parents of LGTB, let's stick together!

My daughter is a blessing for me, she was born when I was 36 years old after two miscarriages. You can imagine my love for her, like every other mom, and though divorced, her dad also loves her dearly. She came out at 16, three years ago, and honestly, I have never had any issue with that. As long as she is healthy, has a good heart, is responsible, what else as a parent can I ask?

I was raised with non-judgmental parents, back in the 80s when I was in college, after attending a Catholic school, my parents totally accepted my gay friends of which I had plenty, so I also learned how not to judge. During these three years I kept my daughter's "sexual" life private, I truly believe that sex life is private, I don't like to air mine, no need to air no one else's, and also out of respect until my daughter was comfortable enough to be open, she moved to NY from Texas! Yup, Texas!

I learned through life experiences how to stand for what I think and believe, without engaging in a war, or confrontation, since others have the right to have a different opinion from mine. It took a lot of strength and feelings of loneliness to understand that I don't have to fit in, though it's important to belong. I found that though it can hurt, it hurts me more to betray myself. I left my church, not before talking to pastors about my daughter, we were very involved in church; as expected, their answer was "love the sinner, not the sin, she can refrain herself from that sexual tendency and marry a male" !!!!!

I have seen so many losing friends, because of their LGTB child, criticism, back stabbing, bullying... and I mean, the PARENTS have gone through this, we, parents go through the same ordeal as them. My advice is to not get into the emotional turmoil of what others think, not even the church, don't be resentful, at the end it will hurt you more than to the others. I am a life coach, I've worked with rape victims as well as battered women, and I came to realize that if you go to the bottom of the pain, you can get yourself out of the situation, it might not be easy, and may sometimes be extremely difficult to do, but you can do it! As expected, my service has been shifting to help Parents of LGTB children, and it is amazing since we are also becoming friends. Don't stick with an organization or people who are not safe for you, doesn't matter if it is church, friends, family... don't impose the love for your child on others, instead, look for people who will support you. Like when you see a friend going through a difficult time, (divorce, struggling with a diet, a job, etc.) don't you tell that friend, "Don't pay attention to those insulting comments, don't listen to them, you need to stay only with those who support you"? Hey! we need to apply that exact advice to ourselves. Easy? Yup! As long as you want to be true to yourself and not to others, as long as your priority is your LGTB child and not the others. Why do you really care for what others feel and think? You need to be strong and set the example for your child; if you feel bullied, obviously your child will not learn how to ignore hurtful comments or fight back bullies... think of how your emotions are affecting your child, who really needs your wisdom to deal with being LGTB in a judgmental world.