Smiling Over My Breakfast

I am a creature of habit.  In the mornings this means that I scoop out a bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios, pour milk over it, and enjoy.  I haven't spent much time thinking about my Cheerios...I just like their flavor.

However today I am smiling at my Cheerios.  I am smiling because I am proud of this company for taking what was apparently a risky stand in their commercial casting. 

Funny thing is that I saw the commercial and didn't realize it was a risk-taking venture.  Instead, I simply saw a cute child with loving parents.  But apparently there has been negative reaction to the fact that it reflects a mixed race family.  (Humorously enough, I had to hear the negativity second hand and read about it through the media, which apparently reflects something about the people I spend time with).

This is another reminder to me about how far we have to go.  This is about racism and racial perceptions.  This is also about our learning to give permission for people to love who they love.

As I watch my children grow up, one of the dreams I have for them is that they will share their life in good relationships.  I hope for them healthy and life-giving friendships.  If they seek a partner, I hope for them loving and respectful relationships. 

And I hope that a decade from now as they are verging on adulthood that I don't have to worry about reactions from those around them if they happen to love someone of a different race, of the same gender, or who in other ways breaks past stereotypes for partnering.

I remain confused when people spend so much time and energy evaluating relationships on these criteria.  There are so many couples of the same race whose relationships are damaging.  There are so many heterosexual couples who show anything but love and respect to each other.  And yet,  there still is an available assumption that same race, heterosexual partnerships are always best, are always okay.

My dream is that my children and all people will soon live in a world where they are encouraged to find partners with whom they can make the world a better place, to whom they can show love, with whom they can grow more fully into the people God created them to be. 

This is long overdue.