How Theatre and D&D Saved My Life.

I have started and stopped this entry countless times. But as a lovely theatre friend put it in her blog:  "I realize I’ve been avoiding having this conversation with myself and others...so it's time".

I am the most content in this place in my life, than I have ever been. And I credit theatre and Dungeons and Dragons.

Roughly a year and a half ago, I was utterly and completely lost. I was told by the director of my church choir that the ministry team of the church had decided that I was no longer welcome to sing in the choir I had been a part of for more than 10 years.

What grievous thing did I (and other members) do to get kicked out of a volunteer church choir? We were too old, too experienced, not the right demographic.

Being in that choir and involved in that church was a huge part of who I was. I made countless friends there. It shaped my schedule, my commitments, and my service. And choir was the greatest part of how I worshiped. Music has always been my favorite way to find God, to speak to God, to listen to God.

These weren't faceless bureaucrats that summarily dismissed me. They were people I considered family and when they kicked me out of my church, they cut off personal contact and kicked me out of their lives, too. Maybe they couldn't look me in the eye, but there were certainly bridges burning all around me.

So, I cried for three days and tried to figure out what I was supposed to do.  Who was I now?

My church had abandoned me, but God never did.

A few days after the aforementioned events, I got an email for a person I have still never met. She got my name from a friend that thought I might be interested in being in a sci-fi rock opera. A community theatre company still needed some actors to fill out their cast. I auditioned and was cast. I made new friends. I had the most fun I have ever had on stage. I laughed and sang and danced and felt like a person again.

Two days after that show closed, one of my new theatre friends convinced me to audition for another show. I did and was cast. And in that show, standing beneath bright lights on stage, I felt God and home and fire and purpose. And I thank the Creator for the people who led me there.

“Ok, so theatre I get. But how did being an enormous nerd help you out?”

During all of the tears and the upheaval and terror of auditions, I was participating in a Dungeons and Dragons gaming group with some friends. That's right, we are young professionals and we game. Loud and proud.

We were friends when we started, but we are family now. They, and the Gaming Widows, appeared right when I needed them. I thank the Creator for nerd-love and for putting them in my life. They held the line, carried the light, and sounded the applause when I finally found myself again.

Sometimes, people suck. They disappoint you, betray you, and break your heart. Maybe it does all happen for a reason.

Or maybe I'm too damn stubborn to let them break me.

Either way, a year and a half, I'm still doing theatre, still gaming -- happy again.