David and Ryan have been together for four years. They met on the 12th of March in 2015. They are officially celebrating their first anniversary this year, on the 18th of August.
It has been a year since Open Table MCC (a church that conducts same-sex unions) has officiated David and Ryan’s wedding, and we checked back on the couple as they reminisce what happened a year ago on their wedding day.
“It was a rainy day, and thirty minutes before the start of the ceremony, the shower had gotten stronger”, David recalled. “Our coordinator asked us whether we would like to move the ceremony indoors or would we push for the planned garden union. Although we were placed in separate rooms the entire day, we were both standing by the window praying for the rain to stop.”
According to the couple, they were speaking to God with the same thoughts as they prayed in their separate rooms:
“Living God, I have found peace knowing that You love me and You accept our love. But if the rain does not go away, many people will say that You are showing Your disapproval. Although there is no truth in that, God, let us not give them any reason to think that way. I beg that You still the storm and cease the rain — show everyone that You welcome us to Your table of grace and that You bless our union. Reveal to them Your approval.”
The couple was afraid that if their wedding gets cancelled by the heavy storm, that people who do not approve of LGBT+ relationships will see it as a confirmation that God is also against LGBT+ relationships.
“Even as we said our “Amens,” the rain did not stop. At 3:59, the coordinator gave the cue to start the entourage march. We were going to go ahead with ceremony, even if it meant doing it under the soaking rain”, David continued.
But, call it a miracle if you will, at exactly 4:00PM, as the first person on the entourage stepped foot on the grass, the rain suddenly ceased.
“The sky brightened. The clouds on top of us opened like a door, and the sun peeked through it with a beaming light directed on the ceremony area. It was glorious. Tears were shed. Hearts were joyful. And we praised the Living God.”
And that is the inspiring story of David and Ryan’s, quite literally, “gay” wedding.
We don’t know if God made the rain stop or not. Was it a coincidence? Most likely. At the same time, we strongly believe that where love is, there God abides.
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