Lauren Michel

I knew that something was different about me when I hit puberty and started to daydream about girls oppose to boys. I was raised in a conservative Christian home in the South, so before I even knew what to label it, I knew being attracted to the same sex was a no-go.

After marrying a man in order to feel fully accepted by my community, realizing that relationship was abusive, and leaving with two little boys, I got to a point of exhaustion trying to be everything that never felt natural me. I woke up to the idea that maybe God intentionally gifted me with an attraction to the same sex to bring new ideas and experiences to this world, and He loves me just as he made me.

The Reformation Project, therapy, and Justin Lee’s Torn saved my life... up until last year, I had no idea that another theological argument even existed, and these resources opened up my world and freed me.

I am going through a divorce and still dealing with the after effects of coming out, but I have never felt more proud to simply be Lauren. My entire life has been filled with self-hatred due to a struggle with my sexuality and faith. I have never felt like I fit in anywhere nor that I deserved to because of who I am. But now, I realize the beauty in my differences, and that fuels me everyday to love people exactly where they are and gives me hope for the future. I choose to love myself unconditionally everyday, which is a superpower I didn’t even know was possible to hold.