Things I Love Thursday

This week I thought I'd take it easy for the TiLT and post something that I thought was absolutely amazing... far beyond the typical "Oh I love this" air of my Thursday feature. I think you might like it, too!
♥ christians showed up at the chicago gay pride parade to apologize for how the church has treated them ♥
The guy you see in the black hugging the fella in his undewear wrote a blog post about the event and this was definitely the most capturing sentence:
"I hugged a man in his underwear. I think Jesus would have too."

I first saw the photo floating around Tumblr and then stumbled across this blog. All photos are sourced from there so please click over if you'd like to read more about it! It's truly so incredibly heartwarming. I think it speaks volumes. No matter what your faith is (or lack thereof), I think we can all agree that the level of humanity and respect shown at the Chicago Pride parade was incredible. Ahh, I love it!

Happy Thursday, friends! We just got internet at our new place so I'll be catching up on emails starting Monday! If it's super urgent, tweet me + then I'll try to sort through my email to reply asap! 

52 comments:

  1. I've seen this floating around tumblr recently, and, as a Christian, it made me cry (in a good way).

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  2. I hope this attitude spreads among Christians.

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  3. this made me so so happy! we're all the same afterall!

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  4. I love this post and just everything about this. Seriously made me almost cry because it makes me so happy :) I can't wait to look at those other pictures!

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  5. As a gay youth who's had some pretty terrible responses from the church... This made my morning a lot better (: thank you so, so much. Reminders that acceptance exists in the church I was once part of make me so happy, and give me hope that I might be able to go back one day.

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  6. This kind of brought tears to my eyes. Considering the recent protest at the school I work at (http://erhellt.blogspot.com/2012/02/love-conquers-hate-indeed.html) a little love goes a long way sometimes.

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  7. Awesome! And this is very timely with that horrible "Don't Say Gay" bill that it seems like is passing here in Tennessee. It's hard to understand why love doesn't always conquer hatred.

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  8. Thank you for sharing this post, Kaelah! I'm a Christian, and I'm just disgusted at how other Christians have behaved toward the gay community!
    Jesus taught us to love everyone, and we are called to show His love to the world, and it just sickens me when I see so many churches not only not doing that, but doing the exact oposite of it! I'm glad there was one church there to show what Christians are supposed to be. What Jesus called us to be.

    Thanks so, so, so much for sharing this!

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  9. this is so amazing!! seeing people support other people who normally do not agree...this is amazing progress and it makes me so happy!
    xo,
    cb

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  10. Beautiful post! Truly beautiful.

    http://shannonhearts.blogspot.com/

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  11. This made me tear up..I would have cried but I'm at work. I'm gay but I'm a Buddhist, the funny thing is, is that my dad is a pastor and he loves me (& my family) no matter what. I moved to Vermont (From LA) for the gay rights, fresh air and friendly people. This really made my day, it's nice to see that people in big cities are starting to realize that being gay doesn't make us any less human.

    XO,
    Eeka

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  12. tear. seriously. this made me cry. i had to show scott and i could see that lump in his throat, too.

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  13. Oh that is so amazing and makes me so happy! <333

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  14. I've seen this before, but it still makes me well up. I just read Tristan- the man in the underwear's interview with the hugger on his blog. Beautiful!

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  15. wow, this is seriously amazing. my friends would love to see this.

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  16. This brought so much warmth to my soul
    xxx

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  17. Thank you so much for posting this - I wish there were more Christians who were as tolarant as these people are. It is truely how Christ would have been! I am a Christian and have plenty of gay friends - I even write for a gay magazine...truth is you dont have to be so hateful towards others just because you dont agree with their choices. I'm sure there are lots of people who dont agree with many choices that I make everyday. Thanks again for spreading the word!

    xx Ashleigh
    www.ashflynn.blogspot.com

    xx Ashleigh
    www.ashflynn.blogspot.com

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  18. This is so amazing! I just have no words <3

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  19. This is the first time I've seen this image and it's SO amazing. I am not a Christian, nor am I a homosexual - and I've never comprehended how people could treat each other so indifferently. This image shows *perfectly* what kind of world I want to live in. People - no matter what their upbringing, background, beliefs, opinions... putting it all aside for a moment to realise that a person is just like you and me. People sometimes overlook the basics in life - we are all people and we all want acceptance. xx

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  20. This absolutely restores my faith in humanity. I love it.

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  21. I've seen this on tumblr too, and I really wish more people have turning points like this in the future. With all the gloom and doom people are talking about in 2012, I think it's love, acceptance, and forgiveness that's gonna end up saving the world. Only if we all stick together and put our differences aside.

    I've been writing about self love and acceptance on my blog lately too, and your blog has inspired me multiple times over the year or so that I've been following you. Thanks for sharing this post!

    http://www.jessbuckley.com/search/label/truth%20in%20beauty

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  22. I am bawling at this...thank you for positing this post and I am forwarding this to my gay best friend Thomas.

    My best friend Thomas has been my best friend for 10+ years, he has a crazy story/past and if you met him he would share that with you. He stood by me as I walked thru my crazy past of drugs/raves. He is the one who actually brought me back to a relationship with Christ, we took a road trip to visit my family in new england after a bad night of partying, Thomas was sober but since I knew the DJs I was very drunk. Thomas had to drive us home in my car, he said that when I got into my car (passenger side) he said "sweet heart watch out for the Mercedes parked next to you" I was so drunk I slammed my car door into that car bc I hated the world and didn't care. The next day on our road trip we were stuck on the New Jersey turnpike in traffic. Thomas tells me this story of this rich father who had two daughters and one daughter decided to take her inheritance and decided to party and just spend it all. One morning she woke up and realized she had nothing, no friends, no money nothing, then she thought that the servants in her fathers house have more than her. She decided she was going to ask her father for forgiveness, as she walked home her father saw her in a distance and ran out to her and said "what is lost is now found my daughter has come home" I was driving, started crying and said "Thomas that’s a beautiful story where is it from" and Thomas said "sweet heart its in the bible, now you need to turn back to your father (god in heaven" and I said "shut up we are not going to talk about this" Thomas who knew me so well and knew my heart just knew to wait it out. A few days later I decided to give God another chance. A few years after that I wanted to work in full time ministry at a church. Thomas warned me that I might stop being his friend because of it. I swore I would never stop being a friend. He was family to me. But what I didn’t realize was the prejudice I got from people I worked with. I worked at a mega church in the DC area for over 5 years and Thomas was a very well known hair dresser in DC, when pastors or people at the church would ask where to get their haircut I would refer Thomas and some people were really mean about it. They would make comments and I would ask them if they think they are better than my friend. Than my friend who walked the dark road with me and led me back to Christ. Every Christmas I would spend with Thomas, we would get something to eat and go see a movie in DC, I also had many co-workers talk badly about how I would hang out with my gay friend on Christmas. I didn’t understand, but I fiercely defended my friend. He was my best friend.

    When I got married (2 years ago) I had some of my in laws ask if he was going to come to my wedding. I said of course, he is my best friend. I finally stopped working at the church. On my last day on the drive home I called my best friend, we cried on the phone together. I was pregnant and was due a few weeks after Thomas’s birthday. I can tell you what I did on December 10th for the past 11 years (spend it with my best friend Thomas) well I ended up going into labor early and had my son almost a month early. On Thomas’s birthday. My son shares my best friends birthday. Thomas has had allot of horrific things done and said to him by people who call themselves Christians (I want nothing to do with these Christians) he actually moved out of the country to live with his boyfriend in Peru last year but is visiting this May. This story brings tears to my eyes…because I know with all of my heart…that Jesus would have hugged and hung out with every single one of those guys. I wish the Christians I worked with acted the way Jesus did.

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  23. I absolutely love this! I teared up reading the story.
    It makes me sad that this is even an issue.

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  24. This is great. We all deserve respect as human beings, no matter our sex, gender, age, skin colour or sexual orientation. This is why we love you, Kaelah ...
    Kel xo

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  25. Thank you so much for sharing that, I consider myself a Christian and I am very adamant about the importance of gay rights....and I am tearing up! So beautiful!

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  26. so much respect for this! like others have said, i really hope this attitude of acceptance and love spreads throughout the church. i lost my faith in christianity several years ago because there was so much judgement and negativity. this gives me hope!

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  27. I love this so much! I especially love the guys post about hugging the man in the underwear. It's kinda sorta adorable!
    xo Heather
    http://ahopelessnotebook.blogspot.com/

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  28. This made me tear up - really fantastic! Thankyou so much for sharing :) It's nice to see some genuine good in the world being broadcasted rather than acts of hate or violence in the spotlight.

    xo
    http://kittysnooks.blogspot.com/

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  29. I love this story! I have a class right now called Intercultural Communication and we recently watched a video called For the Bible Tells Me So, which is essentially a documentary on the Bible's viewpoint on the LGBTQ community, and follows several devoutly religious parents who have gay sons or daughters, and their different reactions. It's very good (but a little "scary" and definitely saddening at times)and I would recommend it! Love this post so much!

    -Z
    zplustheworld.tumblr.com

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  30. Oh, this is lovely. Thanks for sharing.

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  31. That is the most incredible thing I have seen and read in a really long time. I teared up a little reading it. It made me have hope for this world and acceptance. What a fantastic thing they did, thanks for sharing this.

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  32. I remember seeing that first photo on Tumblr. It's incredibly inspiring ♥

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  33. Great share. I love it when people do things right for once!!

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  34. This brings a smile to my face and tears to my eyes at the same time. SO touching, wonderful and amazing! What a great TILT submission girl! Well done! ox

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  35. Thank you so much for posting this and linking to the article about it. I came across the photo on Tumblr a few days ago and it made me happier than you can believe. One of the main reasons I have turned away from the Church after being raised in it is the level of hate I felt resonated from there towards people like this man, who have done nothing beyond fall in love. This photo, and the story, give me hope that one day, people can change, and a loving God can truly love everyone.

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  36. Um, I LOVE this. Thank you for sharing something special I might have missed out on.

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  37. Hey, love the outfit, and your blog, I'm new here. Following now. :-)

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  38. ooops commented on the wrong post. lol. I meant to post this on your fashion post above this one. Sorry. :-)

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  39. Seriously heartwarming. Thanks for sharing, Kaelah. :)

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  40. This is so amazing! Thank you so much for sharing! :)

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  41. that's such a sweet sentiment & I totally am on board with it. thanks for sharing!

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  42. I discovered your web site via Google while looking for a related subject, lucky for me your web site came up, its a great website. I have bookmarked it in my Google bookmarks. You really are a phenomenal person with a brilliant mind!

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HEY! Thanks for dropping by. xo KB