If you would have told me a few months ago that I would be speaking to a large group of law enforcement officials and telling my story, I would have quickly told you that you were the one who needed to see a head doctor. But last Thursday, I did just that ... I stood at the front of a great big conference room filled to the brim with folks who are choosing to spend their lives protecting all the rest of us. If you would have told me a week ago that I would be speaking to the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council and telling my story, I would have laughed out loud and said, "Yeah, right." But tonight, I did just that ... I sat at one of several long tables surrounded by ministers from various faiths who are choosing to search for their commonalities rather than their differences. And if you would have told me a year and a half ago that I would be part of making a documentary about a former member of the infamous Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, I would have surely passed out cold right on the spot. But I'm doing just that ... I'm working with my son Brad and our co-director Jason to bring Nate's story to the big screen.
As I drove home in the pouring rain after I finished speaking tonight, I couldn't help but think about how much my life has changed since the day I walked into the conference room at work and spilled my guts (and gallons of tears) to my friend. I couldn't help but recognize the undeniable connections ... the tapestry of events and circumstances that seem to be somehow molding and shaping not only the journey of my own life but the journeys of others in their lives as well. Sometimes it completely overwhelms me ... the knowledge that we all are part of something far bigger than we can even begin to comprehend ... sometimes it overwhelms me in a huge gigantic sort of way.
We all are ... I think that may well be one of the deepest truths I've learned ... we all are. We all are searching for the same things ... love, acceptance, understanding, compassion, worth, honesty. We spend so much time focusing on our differences that we miss all that we have in common. I have no idea how many people I've met in my life, but I do know this ... we all are so much more the same than we are different. Especially in the eyes of God ... we all most definitely are the same in His eyes ... we all most definitely are.
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