I would like to take a moment to relate a story that really touched my heart this past month: The month of September provided me the opportunity to be a guest speaker at a few different churches throughout Chicago and the surrounding areas. I love speaking/preaching at Sunday services, or at individual Bible studies as I am afforded the opportunity to relate in a first hand experience the relevancy of God’s word theologically and doctrinally to not only that particular church community, but further expanding to their surrounding community and the GLBT community. It is always nice when I am able to speak to a group of people, as you will never know who is listening and what might happen.

Towards the end of September I was speaking at a Sunday service at a church on the North Side of Chicago, and after I had finished I ended up in the lobby answering questions regarding The Marin Foundation. When all but a few people had left, an older gentleman came up to me to shake my hand. As soon as our hands touched, this man began to cry. The tears continued to flow for about 5 minutes as I stood there in silence embracing this overwhelmed man. When the tears stopped and he gathered his thoughts, he said to me, “I am bisexual, and I am tired of being alone. The gay community doesn’t accept me, the straight community doesn’t accept me, my family and friends won’t accept me, and all I can think about is that this life means nothing to me anymore. I have no where to turn, and I have no hope. But today I found hope in what you said (I spoke about Lamentations 3: 21-29).” He continued by saying, “I don’t know if you care, but your foundation is right where I need it to be for me personally, to bring me the hope in my life because I haven’t found any in what I’m doing.”
Since that day, we have been talking, taking little steps one-by-one in an attempt to release the pain and refocus his mindset on our Lord. This road is not an easy one. It is not filled with smooth, freshly laid pavement. From his perspective, this road is rocky, and as he puts it, “an untrusting and tattered path with nothing but an unseen God to try to reach out to.” And it is for this reason that The Marin Foundation exists. As it says in Romans 14, “Make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” A broken spirit can lead to much pain and suffering, but The Marin Foundation is here to make sure that those in the GLBT community know they are not alone.

Thank you and God Bless,

Andrew Marin