Hope is the Thing with Feathers...

Hope     

Hope is the thing with feathers 

That perches in the soul, 

And sings the tune--without the words, 

And never stops at all - Emily Dickinson

Last month Shok suggested that I blog about my hopes and dreams for the future. I wasn't sure at first how to tackle this topic as most of my hopes and dreams have already come to pass. I've carved out my own life as an adult, far away from the negative aspects of the church. The things that I wish to change in 2010 in my  life aren't at all related to religion or to my childhood as a PK. 

The only real hopes and dreams I have concerning religion is that Aiden (and those that come after him) will one day be mystified by some of the stories of his Grandfather, Aunt and other relatives. That he will grow up in such a way that it will never occur to him to think that only men can be pastors, or that hell is one misstep away, or that his family would disown him if he fell in love with someone of the "wrong" race, gender, religion or background.


I do not hope that he or we will forget these things ever existed, only that they become part of our history. Ninety years ago, more or less, my Great-Grandmother lost her youngest sister due to food poisening from a tin of tainted milk. In the morning, her sister was a healthy toddler. Less than 24 hours later she was dead. This sort of thing is now all but unthinkable now due to higher standards for food safety and easier access to much better medical care. 


It is true that none of my stories are life-and-death. But I still hope that, one day, Aiden reacts with as much disbelief to my stories as I would react to the things that were considered a normal, albeit sad, part of life for the ones that came before me.