DESCRIPTION:
It's no secret by now that I'm the son of a preacher man AND a preacher woman. To have my mother officiate my wedding ceremony last October was a gift of love most kids could only dream of. What perhaps came as a surprise to my friends was meeting both my parents and realising that they are the ones who have taught me everything I know about how to love. Sadly for a lot of people religion only represents hate, exclusion, bigotry and condemnation. Even though the story of Christ is the greatest love story ever told, we have come to expect anything but love from the Christian community, along with many other religious communities around the world. Everyday we see GOD being used as an excuse for violence and division. It's disheartening to say the least.

When I first came out to my parents many years ago I did so with the fear that I might lose my family. I was terrified of losing their love, but I was more terrified of living a life of lies and dishonesty with myself. I knew I had to be myself, no matter the cost, but I dreaded so much the very real possibility that I could be facing an uncertain future all alone. Although the process wasn't always easy and we all had a lot of learning to do, my parents never showed me anything but love. In the early days, there were definitely more tears than laughter, but we've made up for that over the years. In fact, I think I could say I've learned to laugh from them, as much as I've learned to love. When you hear my dad's speech, you'll see why! He's a funny man.

I know this isn't everyone's story. I know I'm incredibly lucky and exceedingly blessed to have been born into such a unique and inspirational family. This is one of the reasons we called our wedding The Festival Of Love. I knew this wedding was always going to be about so much more than just one couple. It was a chance for me to share a little bit of this light I was born into with my friends. Now I'd like to share it with others who might need a little light in the darkness. The world seems darker than ever. The world needs love more than ever.

This is one dad's scarf story of love.