Matthew Aaron 5/29/16 Matthew Aaron 5/29/16

Every Thorn Has It's Rose

Today would have been my mom’s 70th birthday. Her name is Hazel…“like a nut,” she would say, “because I’m kinda crazy.” If mom were alive, she would be celebrating at a local BBQ place or Incredible Pizza, which is actually dad’s favorite. She left a lot of hope and humor behind in her letters. My mom, Hazel Ann Walker, wrote long letters; lots of them. Each, a delightful rambling on work, recipes, my dad and life. One of our best memories was the Thanksgiving I volunteered to help cook. I got bored so I flew the 15 lb., uncooked bird around the kitchen before ultimately posing it like a Playboy centerfold on the sink. Mom tried not to laugh, but when she saw the beheaded fowl provocatively positioned, she couldn’t hold it in.

Mom was the reason I got a college degree and could prepare an entire meal from scratch. She was also the source of great emotional upheaval in my life. Creative and tough, she did her best to keep her tortured past in the past. She sacrificed for the good of others. Scanning back over stacks of hand written letters, I realize that in the midst of our thorny relationship, some beautiful roses grew. I would love to share my mom with you; in her own words.

Dear Son, January 25, 1994, 1:20 PM

I love you and am concerned about you. I love you very much (Daddy does to) and I never want you to doubt it. We are very proud of you. We all feel trapped, scolded, hurt and confused. At those times, take time to look at ourselves kindly. Breathe in God’s life and celebrate that He loves us. Grace is a gift of God. We are not perfect. We are humans. We need to accept ourselves as such. LAUGH! LAUGH! LAUGH! As you pass through this world you’ll wear many different shoes. You’ll never know how they feel on the other person till you’ve worn them yourself.

Life is an attitude and it depends on one’s own. I’ve never been to college or anywhere else, but I’ve lived 46 years in this hard, old world. Things happen that are good and BAD. Just learn to hang in there. Take it day by day. Do not worry as your mother does. It hurts God when you do. I’ve tried to protect all of my children from hurt and the world. That is wrong! The way you grow up is to take on responsibility. I think you want adult privileges, but no adult responsibility. I want so many things for you. Some things I want for you, money can’t buy: a good relationship with the Lord, happiness, self-confidence and positive thinking.

When you are older you’ll tend to mellow a bit. When you’re young your feelings are intense. They seem to be right up front. It took me over 40 years to grow up in some areas of my life. That sounded good didn’t it? The courses you are taking are hard. Do the best you can do. I’m sure everyone who has been to college or done anything worthwhile has run into HARD times. If I look behind me and see some of the things I’ve gone through, there was some point I thought that I couldn’t have done them. Dad & I are behind you 100%. You can tell the Lord anything. I have and you know me! Just call upon him. Please try to go to church once a week. Love, Hazella

Son, October 27, 1992 9:15 a.m.

The world’s a better place because you’re in it! A little crazier, maybe, but better! (As a rule) only buy things on sale. There is too little good in this world so spread it around. I wore my pants backwards and Dad pooped his. I laughed so much I threw up in the Wal-Mart parking lot and almost wet my pants. I couldn’t get the door unlocked or window open fast enough for Jack. He just sat there yelling. It was a good afternoon for us. Today is another beautiful day in Oklahoma. I told Daddy no one would have us we’re too rotten. I fed him hot cookies and milk at about ten last night.

I have made 10 loaves of Zucchini bread and 3 pans of orange rolls. I really need to diet, but I really love to eat. I love you and wish you well. You need to really do some soul searching. Do you want to be an adult and accept all responsibility? Or do you want to be a child? No one can make these decisions for you.

I think one thing I’d really like is a clean house and nice curtains. I guess I don’t or I would have them. I’ve thrown away a big sack of my clothes. Aren’t you proud of me? I know you can do good, but living life is not easy. It’s not a party everyday or a t-shirt. What really bothers me about being short staffed at work is not doing the kind of work I like to do; good work.

I’ve written bigger checks to you than anyone in my 43 years. You never know what is going to happen in your life. The Lord will help you and guide you. You need to let the Bible help you. Daddy prays for all of us. I just wish I had his faith.

We’ve always wondered if stinky people can smell themselves or if they just think it’s someone else. I told Daddy when we got in bed Tuesday night why don’t you ever think of your legs, shoulders, hips, and knees when you’re young? Cause they don’t hurt.

Love, Mother

Matty,

We went to church last night and had a good service. I feel so much better after I go. The Bible says if your enemy is hungry, give him food. If he is thirsty, give his something to drink. This will make him feel ashamed of himself, and God will reward you. I have really been trying to do better, but it’s so hard to be a Christian. The devil (so daddy says) has been putting the most horrible thoughts in my mind. I have been reading my Bible more. For awhile I read it and none of it made sense. Jesus is always there. Always the same.

I think someone needs to draw a picture for new Christians, so they can succeed in living a Christian life. Prayer, Bible reading, and Christian fellowship. Sometimes I feel like an idiot trying to be a Christian. I see things like I’ve never seen them before. I was a Christian for several years when you were small.

You are not gaining a thing by comparing yourself to someone else. I hope you will realize this and stop it. There is always someone worse off. Just keep looking around and you are blessed. You have a healthy body, good mind, common sense, good personality, and good looking. What you are doing (I feel in making changes) is growing up! It hurts and we don’t like it, but it’s a fact. If you want to excel in college, it should be top priority after the Lord. I asked you to attend church once a week. More for you than for me.

Are you running from the Lord? Please don’t think I’m preaching. I’ve always felt like you had a job to do here for the Lord. Are you maybe running from yourself? Twenty‑four hours in a day are yours. I keep telling myself I have the same 24 hours Helen Keller had! When we were first married we wanted a new car, nice house, and furniture. Why? Other people we knew had them. You want things and lot of them when you are younger. This is the time you really can’t afford them, but when you’d enjoy them most. As you get older I think you appreciate what you get more.

A lot of people don’t have what your Dad & I have for our children and other people. Believe it or not they would like to. You can’t buy it with money. Manners and being nice do not cost any money. Always try to put yourself in the other fellow’s place and it may change your view.

I really don’t think God would have minded if I had stayed home to watch the Country Music Awards. I told Jack I think He likes country music. I did not want to end on 13 pages and now I’m to 15 pages. I’m reading a book about Abraham Lincoln. He was very very smart and very religious. Also a good story teller. I just always think of him as tall, ugly and freeing the slaves.

P.S. Everybody has a cross to bear. Jesus loves us even though he knows our deepest thoughts. I’ve had PMS today. Poor Jack. Love, Mother

Jack is my father; mom’s forever faithful husband. He loved her unconditionally. He showed me a Godly example of how to love a woman well, regardless. In her absence, her letters share the very essence of a mother’s heart.

Her love for me is summed up in one sentence. After attending my first college play where I portrayed an Indian brave wearing nothing more than a dance belt, body paint and a dish rag, she hugged me and said,

“I think you’re a real special guy; even in a loin cloth.”

Happy Birthday “June”!

Matthew Aaron 4/27/13 Matthew Aaron 4/27/13

Power Struggle

A friend of mine, who happens to be gay, asked me the following question. “Why do some gay men obsess over female celebrities?” I pondered for a moment. Then I gave him a multi-layered answer spanning the course of many years. Just like homosexual desires can’t adequately be addressed with “I was born this way”, the reason some gay men focus heavily on powerful or influential women has its complexities. Picture it, Oklahoma, the 70’s. My family dynamic was hopelessly askew. Growing up in the Walker household, Hazel, not Jack, was in charge. Dad was the disciplinarian, but mom orchestrated our lives. My mom struggled with bi-polar disorder. She ruled with screams, tears or silence. My brother and I gravitated to opposite parents. I was my mom’s son and thus learned how to be a human by watching her. My mom’s maiden name was Williams. William’s women were a force to be reckoned with. Developmental Math Equation: Sensitive male child + A strong woman = Emasculated, little boy. Words synonymous with emasculated: powerless, helpless, impotent, weakened, feeble and ineffectual.

Dad was powerless to stop mom’s hurtful words and actions. He said it was easier to surrender me to my mom, than to fight for me. His words brought with them a great sadness. The enemy told me a thousand lies a minute. “You must have done something wrong to make your dad not love you.” I spent my entire life wondering if I even mattered. Suddenly it made sense why I looked for acknowledgement in the eyes of every man I walked past. I was silently screaming, “Isn’t there any man out there who would simply love me?” I wasn’t looking for sex. I was looking for acceptance, value and my identity as a man. I wasn’t been “born gay”. My damage was the aftermarket result of a lifetime of neglect and abandonment. I saw my dad as passive. Women bulldoze passive men. I don’t want to be a man like dad. I feel different than other men. I don’t identify with men at all.

Mom was in control and I was her favorite. I didn’t always like her methods, but I liked her results. I grew up feeling weak, shy and inadequate in her shadow. I saw dad the same way. Mom was the exact opposite. My close proximity to her, allowed me to mimic her habits. I manipulated people to get what I wanted. Under mom’s wing, I was protected from my father. Mom lavished her love and affection on me. She confided in me. For a long time, I was her source of emotional support. It became a way of life for me. Yet, not even I was safe from her occasional manic outbursts. It was like standing in the flames of hell and hoping for an occasional glimpse of heaven. After 18 years of having my voice silenced, I perceived women to be more powerful than men. I identified more with women, than I ever did with men. No one challenged them. They were strong, courageous and bold. I envied their “power” and saw it as the means necessary to breakthrough my feelings of inadequacy and powerlessness to become a person people respected.

I once shared one of my journal entries with my friend Kathy. I wrote, “I wish I could sing like Whitney Houston.” I was embarrassed, but we had a good laugh. Whitney embodied some of the same characteristics I saw in my mom: Strength, Boldness, Independence and Power. I idolized Whitney, not because I was gay, but because early childhood development shaped who I looked to for direction. Other childhood heroes included Wonder Woman, Samantha from Bewitched, The Designing Women, The Golden Girls and Madonna. Laugh if you will, but they were strong, powerful people who confidently took care of themselves. If my childhood taught me anything, it was the need to take care of myself. No one else was going to do it. Ultimately, my journey out of anonymity in search of purpose came from a very broken place, not from a genetics textbook. I looked a lot of places for answers, before I ever turned to Jesus, but eventually I surrendered my life to Him.

My answer to my friend’s question? A lot of sensitive boys raised by strong women, are subject to my same disillusions. They possibly suffered a disconnection with dad or dad was absent and mom instinctively “took the helm of the ship”. Therefore the model for a young boy to emulate becomes mom, not dad. A lot of gay men’s lives mirrored mine. The world is a broken place and we’ll find our value in persons, places and things. Men who struggle with homosexuality often end up being people pleasers or over achievers. I think it arises out of a need to add meaning and value to our lives. The broken relationships of our past set us up for failure with rudimentary social skills. We find ourselves using any means necessary to get and keep friends in our lives. No life will endure being pushed aside and forgotten for long. Something’s gotta give. Most people want to feel special, to be heard and to know that they matter. I’ve found that people will take any avenue necessary to make that happen.

I think it's always necessary to bring it back to scripture. James 1:2-4 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

The following book brought hope help and healing to me. “The Emotional Incest Syndrome: When a parent’s love rules your life”- by Dr. Patricia Love.

(A disclaimer. I don’t doubt for a second that my mother loved me and did the best she could with the limited tools in her “toolkit”. However, replicated brokenness is still brokenness. If you are a mom like mine, don’t take this a rebuke. Take it as a second chance to do right by your son and yourself. It’s the best way to help mend his broken sexuality and your broken heart.)