National Coming Out Day: A mother ‘comes out’ with her daughter’s wedding photo

Earlier this summer, Mignon Moore exchanged vows with her long-time partner, Elaine Harley, in a beautiful wedding ceremony in Los Cabos, Mexico. A few weeks before, Mignon and Elaine, who now live in Los Angeles, received an official marriage license in New York City, and they were thrilled to be able to host the ceremony of their dreams on the beach in Mexico with their friends and family members.

A few weeks after the wedding, Mignon looked at the Facebook page of her 64-year-old mother (pictured, with Mignon), who attended the wedding. Mignon saw a photo from her wedding, one of her and Elaine smiling and walking each other down the aisle, ready for the next phase in their lives. The text that her mother wrote to accompany the post read:

All of my friends already know my first-born Mignon. A few months ago in New York she legally married the person she chose to spend the rest of her life with! Last week about 40 of her friends and family went to Mexico with them to hav e a par-tay! They renewed their vows and I was very proud to be there for my daughter. A mother's loveis real and from the heart. I love my daughter, and I will support her until God calls me home. If you feel that I did something wrong, PLEASE, PLEASE feel free to delete me. I promise you - it will be OK with me. I have loved you, Mignon, from the day you were born, and I promise you I will until the day I die. ♥

Mignon's mother is the vice president of the Ministers & Deacons Wives Guild, and most of her Facebook friends are ministers, deacons, missionaries, and women of faith. She had never discussed her daughter's sexuality with most of her Facebook friends.

"What she was really saying was that she was 'coming out' to her Facebook friends about my sexuality," Mignon said. "She didn't say it that way - but that's what she meant. This was her making a statement: That this is her daughter, that she's chosen to make a life with this person, and that this is her wedding picture. That was the equivalent of her 'coming out' - and that was scary for my mom."

Mignon talked about how important that simple Facebook post was to her mother, and how much it meant to her and Elaine. It represented a formal presentation of her mother's love for her daughter, no matter what.

Today, October 11, is National Coming Out Day. Help us celebrate by sharing your story in the comments, or by sharing this story with your own friends and family members.