Traveling on a crowded Amtrak train, it’s almost impossible to not overhear other people’s conversations, as impolite as that may be. As I sat in the lounge car and admired in awe the beauty of Glacier National Park, I overheard a conversation between two men that was much less than beautiful.

I heard one man talking to another about visiting and camping in some of the national parks with his son when he was in Boy Scouts. But then with his next breath, he told about how disgusted he was when the Boy Scouts organization recently decided to allow openly gay members and end that practice of discrimination. When I heard him say this, I could feel my heart break at what I feel is such a misguided prejudice. But what he said next broke my heart even more.

He then proceeded to tell his friend about what his son did when hearing the news about the Boy Scouts allowing gay members; he said that his son told him, “Dad, I quit! I’m done with Scouts.” And he told his friend with a sense of strong conviction, “I was so proud of my son when he did that.” In hearing that I wanted to weep for this world, and how we still have so far to go.

It may not be possible for this man to clear his heart of his mistaken pride in his son’s prejudice towards gay people, but I prayed for him nonetheless. And I also said a prayer for his son’s young soul, that as he grows and lives his life, that he might be given some life lessons in which to see how we are all God’s children, every one of us.

The lesson for me was in not continuing that cycle of hate, not feeling anything but compassion for those who are so afraid. It isn’t easy, I wanted so badly to dislike that man and his son too for their feelings. But when we can turn to love instead of fear, and send our blessings to those so misguided, we just might be able to create a world of tolerance and acceptance of all.