Christian mum wears rainbow sash to son’s gay wedding
Vanessa Hall with her son Lachlan (left) and his husband Paul. (Vanessa Hall)
An Australian woman who’s a committed Christian walked her son down the aisle wearing a rainbow sash to show her support for his gay marriage.
Vanessa Hall said that she and her son, Lachlan, have always been very close – especially as Lachlan’s father died when he was an eight-month-old baby.
But Hall, who sent Lachlan to a Christian school, said she had to do a lot of thinking and praying when her son came out to her as gay.
“We cried together than night, sitting in the restaurant, hugging each other. I knew then that I loved my son, and nothing would ever stop me from loving my son. But I had some thinking and some praying to do. Lots,” Hall said.
Vanessa Hall wore the rainbow sash for her wedding toast. (Vanessa Hall)
Christian mum prayed to accept her gay son
And when Australia legalised same-sex marriage and Lachlan announced that he planned to marry his partner, Paul, Hall said she “came to a crossroads.”
“Late one afternoon I got down on my knees and prayed like I had never prayed before,” Hall said.
“I was sobbing, and I said to God, ‘You know I love you, and you know I love my son. What I don’t understand is why you are asking me to choose between the two of you.
“But if this is an Abraham and Isaac moment, and I need to sacrifice my son in order to stay true to my faith, as much as it would grieve me, and as much as I don’t understand it, you know I would, but please, please tell me that is not what you want from me.’”
“In that moment an almost audible voice spoke these words to me: ‘I gave up my son so that you don’t have to,’” Hall said.
Hall walked Lachlan down the aisle at his and Paul’s wedding, and made a speech wearing a rainbow sash tied around her.
She toasted her son and husband with, “Because in the end, love wins.”
