In this passage, Pirjo, who has discovered that her son Simon is gay, struggles with the fact that she will have to carry the heavy burden of loving and caring for a gay son in a conservative Christian community. This passage not only reveals that Pirjo is angry, sad, and even slightly ashamed of the burden she has to carry, but it also highlights the social stigma attached to being gay or lesbian in the Laestadian Church. Literally, Pirjo is shocked and upset to find out that Simon is gay, as she now has to be “the mother with the gay son” and “carry the burden of Simon with her.” On a larger level, however, Pirjo is ashamed of her son’s sexual orientation, as she, like the rest of her church, believes that homosexuality is a sin; that it
