poor, black, and fat

Before I share with you what I am getting ready to...don't over think this. These are simply reflections. I embrace it all, for it is my journey with God. It began last week when someone interviewing me for a school project asked me to identify the things that made me who I am today growing up. Three quickly came to mind. First, I grew up poor. I'm not going to break out "when I was a kid" speeches (I've used those all on my boys). Simply I remember Christmasses with one present under the tree. We had our electricity and gas and whatever shut off because we couldn't pay the bills. I went years with only one pair of pants. People from our church gave us food. I don't ever remember being bitter about this or caring too much about it. We had family and Jesus and I don't think we ever lacked for anything. I think this has taught me that I can live with or without. It is my reality. I don't worry about money or future. It can't get worse than I've already lived...and I was happy growing up. Second, I was black. This is not to make light of all of my african american friends (my friend Kevin says, "I'm from the 80's I'm black!), it's just that I grew up in an inner city school in Indianapolis that was well over 90% black. That means that I grew up black. If you knew me in 1982-83 at Arlington High School, you would either call me "REV" (everyone knew i was going to be a preacher) or "TYRONE" (my friend, Stephen told me I needed a black name, so he called me Tyrone and it stuck). I listened to Grand Master Flash, Sugar Hill Gang, Debarge and Michael Jackson on WTLC 105. If you don't know these artists...well. This experience has helped me in many formative ways. I was a minority in Jr. High and High School..that gives me a small insight into what minorities go through (I mean small insight). Also, I grew up with no prejudice. I know people don't believe this when I tell them, but I have absolutely no racial prejudice in my body. I just don't. Somehow God allowed me to have this upbringing. Finally, I was fat (I know there is probably a politically correct way to say this better...but oh well). I mean I was fat. Way overweght (as was my whole family - excepting my little brother). I became the outgoing, big personality type to compensate for how much i hated how I looked. Still people made fun of me and I dealt with that. Before marrying Sara, I lost about 65 pounds (in between Freshman and Sophomore years at college) and I've pretty much kept it off - though my wife will tell you that I still think I'm fat and struggle with that part of my self-esteem more than anything else. It's still a journey. Anyway, because of this I have a heart for those who are made fun of and ostracized by others because of how they look. Well, that was pretty heavy stuff huh? Thanks for being my therapist..it's a lot cheaper this way :-)