hi. i’m thea, i’m 23 from Melbourne.

i don’t really have a dramatic story. it has been very gradual and amazing.

I first came out when i was 16. i didn’t actually come out, my friend asked me if i was more into girls than boys. my “dirty little secret” was out. my parents were great about it when i told them. and my friends have also been great.

At the start of 2004, i had a mini quarter life crisis. everything i thought i was, lifted up like dust, everything i help onto became slippery. i felt like i had lost my identity, and didn’t know who i was or what i was doing. in march, i started going to church, just randomly. i had spoken to a friends mum the year before about the church she went to. and i hadn’t thought of it since, until then. It was the vineyard in lilydale, melbourne. was a great place to become a christian. i made some really solid friendships. for about a year or two, i kind of kept my sexuality and my spirituality seperate. after a while, i couldn’t anymore. i spoke to two different friends about it. they both told me they still loved me etc, except i didn’t feel accepted. One told me i should go see debra hirsh (she runs an ex-gay type ministry in st kilda), and the other friend told me it was wrong. She actually referred to how, when she became a christian she used to smoke, but God convicted her in her heart to quite… not exactly the same thing dear.

So anyway, i’ve since changed churches (not because of that, it was time to move on anyway). i now go to treehouse vineyard and i absolutely love it. The people are so warm and lovely, and have accepted me completely.

I’m still working things out in my own mind. but i have amazing people around me, and am also absolutely in love with god.

miss_t🙂

https://freedom2b.org/forums/theas-story-t75/https://freedom2b.org/forums/theas-story-t75/

This is one of the many stories people shared on the Freedom2b community forum. Freedom2b was a lifeline for countless LGBTQ+ people navigating the collision of faith, identity, and survival. Its closure was not because of a lack of need, but simply a lack of funding to keep this vital work going. The mission lives on through Ambassadors & Bridge Builders International (ABBI), but we can only continue reaching those who are still struggling, still isolated, and still searching for hope with the support of people like you. If these stories have touched you, inspired you, or reminded you why this work matters, please consider making a donation to ABBI. Your generosity ensures that no one has to walk this journey alone.

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