If I had not had to come to terms with being gay, my worldview would probably have been formed by my training in science. I might have gone overboard on rationality and disbelieved anything that couldn’t be objectively proven.
But I was forced to confront feelings welling up inside myself which my education did not tell me how to handle. I learned to accept, value, and live my orientation on my own. I did not conduct any scientific research to discover that homosexuality is normal; certainly no public opinion poll. I learned a basic truth about myself, and something about the world as well, by introspection and meditation.
The way I grew from this experience has kept me open to the idea that other truths might be learned in similar ways. If I could learn a little bit, maybe someone else could learn greater spiritual or philosophical truths by inspiration and revelation.
Another way I have been blessed by being gay is that it narrowed my range of choices for spiritual community. In order to find a church where I could be openly gay, I had to join a small congregation. Ames Mennonite Church has ranged from 8 to 20 members. When there are so few people, there are many tasks to share. This has challenged me to exercise skills and gifts I might never have known I had. These are some of the things I have done: treasurer, chair of business meetings, secretary, member of worship/nurture committee, member of pastor search committee, worship leader, giving sermons, hosting social events, and delegate to conferences. I don’t know how I escaped editing the newsletter.