Saturday, February 2, 2008

Getting to know you...

So I recently am corresponding with a new friend online and was asked about myself, how I grew up, my culture, etc. It's interesting how I was able to express myself as I wrote. I thought it would be good to post it in here.....

I grew up in Alabama and lived there for about 6 years after college and then moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee where I lived for about 8.5 years before moving to Omaha. My family is mostly in Alabama. I was raised by my grandmother who has since passed away back in 1994. I am the youngest of three. My sister, the oldest, died in 2003 and my brother, a year older than me, is in the Army in Tacoma, Washington.

My mom lives in Birmingham and I help take care of her. We've grown closer since my grandma died but the reason my mom didn't raise us is because she was considered too irresponsible by my grandma. As an adult I have learned that my grandma was right so I've been essentially mothering my mother and giving her the nurturing my grandma didn't. This past Christmas when my brother and I (who never fight) got into an argument, my mom behaved like a mother towards me for the first time. It was the best Christmas present I've ever had.

I was raised Church of Christ and I attend regularly. I don't want to sound like I am apologizing for my spirituality nor do I want to seem like I am chest-beating and proud of it. It's just simply who I am. If it helps, I am not into "rules". I think Christ came to show us how to love so we would no longer need laws. But different people are on different levels of maturity and some still need the structure of rules to define their limits. Religion is a matter of laws but spirituality is a matter of love, and love always comes first.

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