"Mommy, Who are those people at Chick-Fil-A?"

On Saturday mornings we have swim lessons with our girls and usually eat at Panera afterwards. This past weekend, we were enjoying our normal routine, but on the way back home, we noticed a crowd of people hanging out and holding gay pride signs and protesting at our local Chick-Fil-A. I made my husband do a U-Turn and drive into the parking lot.  No, we were not hungry! We drove right past the small group of people, mostly teenagers and a few adults, holding signs and waving to cars. I wanted to show my support to Chick-Fil-A! We drove through the drive-thru and bought ice cream cones for the kids. They were happy.

I have always loved Chick-Fil-A for these reasons:

#1, They have darn good food! Really, I love their chicken.

#2, They are closed on Sundays, out of respect for "The Lord's Day".

#3, A great Christian environment, they usually are playing Christian music in the background when we visit our local store.

#4, Our Chick-Fil-A has a toddler play area and slide, and my kids LOVE it.

#5, The family nights on Tuesday are great... crafts and fun activities for the kids at our local Chick-Fil-A.

#6, They are always promoting positivity in our neighborhood... they give free chicken sandwiches out on Election Day, if you vote. They are always passing out free chicken coupons for local teachers, and offer children free rewards for accomplishing their "summer reading" challenges at the library, etc.

#7, Their store environment is really clean, and their staff is extremely courteous. I love the "It is My Pleasure", after every "Thank you."...

When I heard that President, Dan Cathy, made a public statement in support of Traditional Marriage between a man and a woman, (reminds me of when John McCain appeared on the Ellen DeGeneres show back in 2008), I was grateful to have another voice speaking out in favor of Traditional Marriage. Chick-Fil-A doesn't have anything against homosexuals... and Cathy is certainly entitled to hold the views that he does. Our Chick-Fil-A was gracious to the protesters and was handing out water and cookies to them.  I heard about the planned "Kiss-Ins" where homosexual couples were planning to "crash" Chick-Fil-A's last Friday and start making out inside the restaurants. Thank goodness that was not going on here and with this particular crowd. It was all pretty civilized.

My 6 year old, of course, wanted to know why they were there, so I took a deep breath and explained that God created the sacrament of marriage to be between a man and a woman. Just like in the Bible. We reminded her that even though we are Catholic Christians, many other people in the world have different view points and they do not necessarily think the way we do or follow what the Bible says. The people standing in the street are not bad people, but they have different views than we do. We follow God's rules. A man and a man can't be married. They can be friends, but they can't make babies together. This simple explanation made sense to her, and she didn't seem phased by it all, thank goodness. This is difficult to talk about when friends and co-workers are gay and are terrific individuals. I try to imagine what it would feel like if I were in their shoes, or if my child was. Maybe I would feel differently. If I were homosexual and Catholic, I would be called to a life of celibacy and chastity, not unlike unmarried heterosexuals are. OK, I know... this is not exactly a popular view point. I struggle when reading Romans 1:18-32 and reconciling the growing trend of society pushing the agenda that Traditional Marriage between a man and a woman is in someway out-dated, unnecessary, un-sacramental, and optional.

Does anyone have any personal thoughts to share on your local Chick-Fil-A in light of recent events?