Wednesday, February 18, 2009

We Are All Enlisted

This morning was glorious--bright, clean and sunny, a spring chill in the air.  Air moist and sweet with the moisture from the rain of the previous days.  I felt good, and I started singing Hymn #250, "We Are All Enlisted".

We are all enlisted till the conflict is o’er;
Happy are we! Happy are we!
Soldiers in the army, there’s a bright crown in store;
We shall grin and bear it by and by.

If you didn't skim those familiar refrains, you'll realize that I'd unconsciously substituted "win and wear it" with "grin and bear it".

I started laughing out loud, and I looked heavenward and smiled.  How long had I been singing this wrong?  I had been an unwilling soldier, conflicted about my sexuality within the ranks of the LDS Church.  I had grinned and borne it my whole life--these "new" lyrics make perfect sense--and that bright crown of glory would be mine if I just fought the good fight for the rest of my life, smiling away like a chucklehead (thanks, Greg).

No more.  From now on, life is not going to be a burden to bear.  It's God's most glorious gift to his children.  We are that we might have JOY.  And with that, I will leave you with this photo, which should make your day bright.  It makes me smile--It's me, probably around 6-7 years old, in a dress.

Have a great day, everyone!

7 comments:

  1. LOL! You were quite the crazy little kid, dude. Who took the photo, anyway? Too, too funny.

    We are that we might have JOY.

    That's one of the cooler parts of Mormonism, and an artifact I've tried to hold on to over the years.

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  2. The photo was taken by my older sister, Sarah, most likely. She loved to dress me up and do my hair. Look how blonde I was! Sigh, I would think that kid would grow up to be DAMN SEXY--look at those clavicles!

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  3. LOL! I'm guessing that it was taken around 1991. I remember my little girlfriend tried to do herself up like that. It was a sort of Madonna look.

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  4. Good guess with the date... I know my parents divorced in 1992, and this was probably right before that. You've got quite a knack!

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  5. Haha. I love that photo. I have several photos of my own like that. And my parents still didn't suspect...

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  6. It is a good think that you gave me credit for taking the time to dress you up in such an adorable outfit. Had you not, I might have had to snare you!

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