A Brave Story About Gender Identity: Being Who God Created Us to Be
By Sara Oyela

God's Brave Women - Sara's Story
I laid there in the dark, on the top bunk, under my puffy comforter, cuddling with my stuffed toy dog. I whispered a prayer.
“God, change me into a boy. Please? I want to be a boy so much.”
In that moment, I felt I would wake up the next morning and see boy parts growing, replacing my God-given feminine future. Disappointment washed over me when I woke and was still a girl. But I held out hope that something was happening and it was just a slow process. Grabbing the edge of the top rung of the bunk ladder, I climbed down and continued on with life.
"God, change me into a boy. Please? I want to be a boy so much.” In that moment, I felt I would wake up the next morning and see boy parts growing, replacing my God-given feminine future. Disappointment washed over me when I woke and was still a girl."
Growing up, my immediate family and I used to travel from idyllic south-central Indiana to the flat, urbanized Region to visit my dad’s side of the family. During those visits, I typically hung out with my cousin, Brayan (who was my age), his younger brother Juan, and my older brother. In our tween years when we converged at grandma’s house for the holidays, the four of us explored the nearby park and businesses together.
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