alan & bethany talbert
Alan and Bethany Talbert have been married for 34 years and have three children and six grandchildren that they love dearly. They did their best to show the reality and importance of faith in God. They live in central Iowa, where Alan works as a Business Analyst for a technology and software company, and Bethany works part-time for a financial investment company.
When one of their adult children came out to them as transgender in 2021, it shook their faith when they realized how people in the church would talk about people like their child. This drew them to seek the heart of Jesus and learn how they should view and relate to their child, friends, family, and the Christian community, which are all so precious to them. The journey has not been easy, but it has led them to a deeper understanding of every person’s desperate need for forgiveness from a Holy God and that none of us get a pass without Jesus. They have been struck with Jesus’ teaching of His desire for mercy over rules in Matthew 9 – his warnings of our judging nature in Matthew 7 – and his mission to save instead of condemnation in John 3. Alan and Bethany’s prayer for parents of trans children is that they can love all of their children - regardless of their struggles - as Jesus would have them love all people.
When one of their adult children came out to them as transgender in 2021, it shook their faith when they realized how people in the church would talk about people like their child. This drew them to seek the heart of Jesus and learn how they should view and relate to their child, friends, family, and the Christian community, which are all so precious to them. The journey has not been easy, but it has led them to a deeper understanding of every person’s desperate need for forgiveness from a Holy God and that none of us get a pass without Jesus. They have been struck with Jesus’ teaching of His desire for mercy over rules in Matthew 9 – his warnings of our judging nature in Matthew 7 – and his mission to save instead of condemnation in John 3. Alan and Bethany’s prayer for parents of trans children is that they can love all of their children - regardless of their struggles - as Jesus would have them love all people.
