Show Notes
Before Free Mom Hugs became a global embrace, it was one mother’s reckoning with fear, faith, and the cost of delay.

In this first half of a two-part conversation, Sara Cunningham—founder of Free Mom Hugs and author of How We Sleep at Night—joins Jeff Click to revisit the years she resisted her son’s truth, convinced that loving him without conditions might cost her faith. Together they trace the blueprint of a conservative evangelical worldview that once taught her that acceptance was sin, and explore what happens when devotion to doctrine eclipses a child’s need for safety and belonging.

They discuss the night Sara’s son came out, the silence that followed, and the moment she realized her faith had built walls where love was meant to live. She shares how years of prayer, fear, and “good intentions” created distance she could never recover, and how one sentence from her son—

“Mom, I’ve sucked it up for 21 years being your son. I need you to suck it up now and be my mom.”
—became the beginning of her return.

In this conversation, they unpack how shame disguised as holiness can fracture families, why silence from church circles deepens isolation, and how fear and ignorance keep both parent and child trapped in parallel closets. Together, they reflect on what it means to move from certainty to compassion, and how losing time can become the catalyst for gaining perspective.

If you’ve ever wrestled between belief and belonging...as a parent, friend, sibling, or co-worker to someone who’s come out...this episode invites you to pause, listen, and consider that love delayed is still love waiting to be born.

In This Conversation You’ll Hear:
The Reckoning | How doing what feels “right” can lead to pain, distance, and years that can’t be reclaimed.

Faith vs. Fear | How a conservative evangelical worldview shaped Sara’s early reactions—and how she began to unlearn them.

Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin | Why that phrase became a wedge in her family and a turning point in her theology.

Silence & Isolation | The cost of missed years and what it means to lose an entire adolescence to fear.

Parallel Closets | How Parker came out of his closet—and Sara went into hers.

Presence Over Perfection | Why early affirmation matters more than getting it all right.

The Global Embrace Begins | The seeds of a movement planted in pain that would later circle the globe as Free Mom Hugs.

If you have an LGBTQ+ someone in your life, this episode offers understanding, humility, and hope. It’s not about replacing faith—it’s about rediscovering it through love.
Next time, in Episode 02, Part 2 | The Redemption: From Heartbreak to a Global Embrace, Jeff and Sara explore how one mother’s pain became purpose, how a handmade button sparked a movement, and how love, when freed from fear, can change the world.

Linkable Mentions
🌐 Free Mom Hugs | The national nonprofit founded by Sara Cunningham that empowers the world to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community through visibility, education, and unconditional love.

📖 How We Sleep at Night: A Mother’s Memoir | Sara’s deeply personal story of faith, loss, and reconciliation.

📸 @saraphrased | Follow Sara Cunningham on Instagram for updates, advocacy, and Free Mom Hugs stories.

💌 Metamorphosis | Jeff’s free 8-week guided email journey toward loving without asterisks.

KeywordsSara Cunningham interview, Free Mom Hugs founder, How We Sleep at Night book, LGBTQ Christian parents, faith and LGBTQ stories, affirming parenting, conservative evangelical deconstruction, Love Without Asterisks podcast, LGBTQ acceptance Oklahoma, Jeff Click, LGBTQ allyship, affirming families, LGBTQ siblings and friends, LGBTQ faith journey, unconditional love podcast, Christian parents of gay kids, Free Mom Hugs Oklahoma City, LGBTQ advocacy, LGBTQ inclusion in church, global embrace movement.

Show Notes
In their conversation, they discuss practical ways to tune toward connection and mute the static of fear, bias, and external expectations of faith communities, family, and culture. They explore how the very obstacles parents fear can become the pathway to deeper trust and presence, and why showing up imperfectly is more powerful than waiting for the perfect words. They unpack where “helping” can unintentionally slip into control, how silence from circles without vocabulary can feel isolating, and why one honest friendship became a lifeline. 

Peter also shares how his family faced bullying and safety concerns, underscoring that keeping a child alive, anchored, and loved must come before everything else. Together, they reflect on the power of transformative encounters, echoing Dr. David Gushee’s insight that lived experience at your own table changes everything.

If you have an LGBTQ+ someone in your life, this first episode offers both hope and clarity. It’s not about fixing a problem, it’s about staying present, protecting connection, and letting love...not noise...set the frequency.

In this conversation you’ll hear:

• Signal vs. Noise: Practical ways to tune toward connection and mute the static of fear, bias, and external expectations of faith communities, family, and culture.
• The Obstacle Is the Way: How the very tension parents fear can become the pathway to deeper trust and presence.
• Presence over Perfection: Why showing up imperfectly is more powerful than waiting for the perfect words.
• Blind Spots & Bias: Where “helping” can unintentionally slip into control—and how to step back into empathy.
• Silence & Loneliness: What it feels like when your circles don’t have a vocabulary for this—and how one honest friendship became a lifeline.
• Safety First: Why the ultimate priority is keeping your child alive, anchored, and loved—everything else is noise.
• Transformative Encounters: Why lived experience at your own table changes everything, echoing Dr. David Gushee’s insights.

If you have an LGBTQ+ someone in your life, this first episode offers both hope and clarity. It’s not about fixing a problem—it’s about staying present, protecting connection, and letting love—not noise—set the frequency.

This is the official trailer for LOVE* (Love Without Asterisks)—a podcast for parents, friends, and loved ones learning what it truly means to love when someone you care about comes out as LGBTQ+.

Hosted by Jeff Click, Love Without Asterisks explores the emotional, relational, and spiritual renovation that happens when unconditional love collides with a worldview shaped by tradition...one influenced by faith communities, family expectations, and cultural norms that often leave people unsure of how to respond.

It’s not a Christian podcast. It’s not a woke podcast. It’s not left, and it’s not right. Love Without Asterisks serves no agenda but the one that matters most: helping you love your LGBTQ+ someone without conditions or fine print.