{"id":29271,"date":"2025-11-10T22:47:40","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T20:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/?p=29271"},"modified":"2025-11-10T23:29:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T21:29:06","slug":"where-truth-and-grace-meet-the-messy-middle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/where-truth-and-grace-meet-the-messy-middle\/","title":{"rendered":"Where Truth and Grace Meet: The Messy Middle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was twelve, I first read Hebrews 4:13: \u201cEverything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.\u201d<\/em> Something about it both terrified and thrilled me. Even then, I longed \u2013 and feared \u2013 to be fully known. But I quietly dared to hope I could be seen and still deeply loved. That ache led me into years of searching, first for human intimacy, and later for divine intimacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I grew older, that longing found early expression in same-sex relationships during my time spent living as a lesbian. For a while, it seemed to soothe the ache of wanting to be fully seen and accepted. But even then, I was still yearning for something deeper, something no relationship, label, or identity could fully satisfy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In time, God gently drew me back to himself; not with shame or condemnation, but with an invitation to the intimacy I had been seeking all along: the intimacy of being fully known, fully exposed, and yet still fully loved by him. That experience changed everything.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Serving in the messy middle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Fifteen years ago, I stepped into the intersection of sex, sexuality, gender, identity, and faith with the Strength in Weakness Ministries<\/a> (SIW). Since then, I\u2019ve walked with hundreds of people and churches who want to stay connected to God and one another, while remaining anchored in what I call \u201cthe messy middle\u201d \u2013 the space where truth and grace meet. It\u2019s a space to hold unwaveringly to biblical truth while embodying Jesus\u2019 scandalous love for all, no matter what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, I serve as SIW\u2019s Chief Operating Officer and help co-host The Strength in Weakness Podcast<\/a>, offering practical, Spirit-led guidance for these tender conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bridging faith and psychology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout this journey, in an effort to better understand my own story and serve others more effectively, I became a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) and Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor (LCMHC). The insights I\u2019ve gained from counseling LGBTQ+ individuals, Christian parents, pastors, and everyday believers shaped my book, Love Covers Over: A Guide for Christian Parents Raising Kids in an LGBTQ+ World<\/a><\/em> \u2013 a small thank-you to those who trusted me with their most vulnerable moments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with Christian parents whose child had come out, I found myself helping them do the same essential things again and again:<\/p>\n\n\n\n