The Beauty of Differences - Steve & Celestia Tracy

“Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ.” 1 Corinthians 12:12

My wife Celestia and I started attending Hope City two and a half years ago when we moved to Milwaukie from SW Portland. One of the things that quickly attracted us to Hope City was its diversity. We found people of varied ages, ethnicities, economic resources, and life experiences. Given the fact that people tend to be most comfortable being around others just like them, we have found Hope City’s diversity a rare blessing. Over the years we have been deeply enriched through relationships with people very different from ourselves.

Celestia and I were both blessed to grow up in loving Christian families. In our churches and schools, we were surrounded by people who looked and believed just like us. It wasn’t until God led us to found Mending the Soul Ministries (MTS) twenty-one years ago and we began to build numerous deep friendships with people of dramatically different cultures that we realized how much we had missed in our safe, comfortable homogeneous settings. MTS exists to provide Christ-centered healing resources for survivors of abuse and other forms of trauma. We serve a wide variety of communities in the US and around the world. We could recount hundreds of stories about how people dramatically different from us have humbled, taught, and blessed us in huge ways. Here are just a few brief examples:

In conclusion, we now live in an era where many view diversity as a serious threat. In reality, diversity can be a strength. We all have blind spots and biases. Our experiences and insights are incomplete. We need each other. Our differences can be a beautiful blessing. 

 

Steve and Celestia Tracy
Volunteers | Hope City Church