Whether one is Hindu or a Muslim or a Christian, how you live your life is proof that you are or not fully His. We cannot condemn or judge or pass words that will hurt people. We don’t know in what way God is appearing to that soul and what God is drawing that soul to. Therefore, who are we to condemn anybody? ~ Mother Teresa

Twenty years ago this month, a young man named Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered here in Wyoming. The reason? He was gay.

Matthew’s parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, provided us all a beautiful example of turning hate into love. They established the Matthew Shepard Foundation, whose motto is “Erasing hate for 20 years.”

Judy and Dennis had Matt’s body cremated. But they never buried the ashes. Yesterday, Friday, October 26, Matt’s ashes were buried at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC.

Bishop Eugene Robinson, a friend of Matt’s parents, is the first openly gay man to be ordained a bishop in the Episcopal Church. Bishop Robinson had this to say about Matt’s burial at the National Cathedral:

If I know anything about God, it is that God can bring something good out of something terrible. And movements need symbols. (The gay equality movement has) the triangle, that reminds us of what was used to brand us during the Holocaust; the rainbow flag; and we’ve got Matt Shepard, who became a symbol of how we (LBGT people) are targets of violence.

Spirit

• God is all that is, literally every thing and every being that exists.
• What you call “good” or “bad” is your self-created illusion of what you think God’s creation is.
• All sexual orientations and preferences—heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or none—are all sacred and good.
• You are all a composite of feminine and masculine energies. Generally, but not always, only one aspect is dominant.
• All relationships, sexual or not, are chosen by you and are always for your greatest good.
• We see you as God sees you—bright, beautiful beings of light, wisdom, and power. You’ve just forgotten who you are, who you’ve always been.
• Your true nature, who you really are, is pure love. Love transcends sexuality and all other “differences” you perceive among yourselves.
• God is pure love. And so are you.
• Love is all there is. Nothing matters more than love. Nothing.

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Dear Claire is a touching short film on what it’s like to be LGBT.