For 26 years, I was a wife with a husband, a mother with two children, an educator in the NC education system, a community leader and homemaker. My former husband is a good man. I am a good person too. However, we were not good for each other. Communication between us was difficult and resolving differences highly challenging.
In due time, I met and have married my current wife of 22 years.
I know and have lived what life can be like as a “different” person in the eyes of many. This can and does lead to additional challenges in how we feel accepted with the larger population. I have worked with various members of the LGBTQ community who also faced these judgmental attitudes from others.
“No one can make you feel inferior without your permission” -Eleanor Roosevelt
“What others think of me is none of my business” -Author Unknown
These sayings are true, however not always easy to live by. I welcome any member of the LGBTQ community with open arms and positive new ways to think of ourselves as humans.
Testimonial:
“As a woman having grown up in a fundamentally conservative and fundamentally religious family, I found myself in love with my college roommate. Both of us, now professionals, faced the challenges of making our love for one another known, shunning from my family, eventually reconciling after many sessions with Linda and a well written letter to my family we wrote together over time. While it took some years, now, my wife and I have two lovely sons, we both have advanced our educations with one of us a minister of a church where we are loved and accepted. This journey would have been more difficult without Linda’s gentle leadership.”
Note: this letter is still used in my practice with no identifying information for other LGBTQ clients to share their path with loved ones for mutual understanding. Many churches now are affirming in their language and full membership of LGBTQ persons.
