This Valentine’s Day, I pledge to love my queer identity.

I pledge to honor the truth I hid for ten years—the door that remained unopened, the secret I was too afraid to face.

Today, I pledge to love the part of myself I was told to hate.

I pledge to remember the relationships I never had, the teenage romance and heartbeats lost in in the darkness of the closet—the love I didn’t know I was missing.

I pledge to tell my teenaged self that it is ok to share her secret—that we can find love, and be loved, even in the midst of our own devastation.

And today, I pledge to make those lost years count. To never forget what once was hidden, celebrating my coming out as a vital step on my journey toward wholeness, in myself, in my relationships, and in my community.

This Valentine’s Day, I pledge to share the light of my truth so others may shine.

I pledge to find beauty in difference, living with eyes open to see love the world refuses to embrace.

I pledge to honor the gift of my perspective, my queerness, in a world too quick to extinguish our flames.

Today, I pledge to find beauty and strength in the broken and healing places, and to share the love of God for all creation.

This Valentine’s Day, I pledge to love beyond expectation.

I pledge to share this love with others, spreading the good news to all God’s children that each of us, blessed and beloved, is worthy of love unending.

Photo via flickr user Aprille Abuan