2014 Living with HIV: Motherly Love and The Black Church

  It's 2014 and I'm still here by God's grace and his wisdom.  It's been two years since, my diagnosis with HIV. It's been two years since my life began, not stop.

  Throughout those two years, I've had ups and downs, I've had love and I've lost love. I've gained friends and I've lost friends.  My biggest test concerning my HIV status, was when it was revealed to people that I deal with in the church.

  Now you know that most church people feel that HIV/AIDS is a curse on the homosexual community and those who are sexually adventurous. This myth is so far from the truth.  There are many people in the church, be it unspoken, that are knowingly living with the virus and some are infected and do not know their status.  

  One of the Mothers of the church that I affectionately call "Momma," asked me what was going on with me one day.  I had just began my medicinal regimine and I really didn't want to talk about it out of fear of being judged and excommunicated from the church. I was having one of those days where I was really feeling the side effects of starting a new medicine and I wasn't really energetic. I could tell that she knew something wasn't right and by hear being a registered nurse, I knew she'd soon call my bluff.

  As she commented "You don't have to tell me. I want to make sure that you're okay and that if you ever need me I'm here for you."

 After her reassurance,  I took a big breath and I said "Well, I recently found out that I have HIV."

  It felt like such a weight off my shoulders.  

 She looked at me and hugged me and said "that's nothing to be ashamed of.  You have your whole life ahead of you.  Yannick, just take care of yourself and heed what the doctor tells you."

I could've cried, but I smiled and thanked her for her Wisdom and Her Motherly Love.

  Now I see that not all people in the Black Church have the stigma that HIV/AIDS is a curse.  What about the people born with it, people who have been raped and have contracted the virus, what about people who have made mistakes in life and contracted the virus.  The Bible teaches us not to judge, but yet a lot of supposed to be Christians judge and add fuel to the stigmas that follow HIV/AIDS.  I wish more people in the Black Church would educate themselves instead of sitting in the seat of judgement,
Yannick