A young orphaned boy wept in church, pleading with God to reunite him with his mother. Suddenly, a voice behind him softly declared, «I’ll take you.» This moment marked the beginning of a new chapter for six-year-old Alan, a child left longing for a family he had never known.
One ordinary Sunday, amidst the solemn echoes of the church, Alan poured his heart out to God, hoping his mother would appear and embrace him. «Dear Jesus, I’ve been told you listen to all our prayers. The people at my foster home said to ask you for what I need. I need my mom. Can you send her to me?» His voice broke with every word.
As he sobbed openly, pleading for a sign, a compassionate voice interrupted his prayers, «Alan, my boy! I’ve come for you. I’m here to take you home.» Overwhelmed, Alan looked up through tears, his cheeks flushed with emotion.
«Why have you ignored my prayers?» he cried out, his voice filling the church. He dreaded returning to the shelter where other children mocked him, telling him his mother would never come back for him.
«Nobody wants a crybaby like you,» they would jeer, their words slicing through him. That day, Alan’s cries reached a breaking point as he sought divine intervention.
«Alan, shhh!» cautioned his guardian, Nancy. «Remember, this is a place of worship. Try to calm down; people are watching.»
Trying to stifle his tears, Alan watched a woman with a child enter the church, reigniting his longing. «Jesus, why won’t you answer me? I want to be with my mom like that girl. Nanny, why doesn’t Jesus respond?» he questioned, his innocence poignant.
Nancy could only smile wistfully at his questions.
Suddenly, the same woman’s voice behind them gently offered, «I’ll take you. My baby, please stop your tears.» Startled, Alan and Nancy turned to find the woman standing there.
«Alan, my dear! I’m here for you. Let’s go home,» she exclaimed.
«And you are?» Nancy asked protectively, clutching Alan close.
«My name is Annette. I am Alan’s mother. I’ve been coming here to see him, making sure he’s okay from a distance.»
«Your son? Can you prove that?»
Annette presented a photo of her cradling a newborn. «I left him at the shelter’s entrance six years ago.»
Nancy was taken aback. «This is exactly how Alan looked when I found him that rainy night. Why would you abandon your own child? What kind of mother does that?»
Tears streamed down Annette’s face as she shared the most painful part of her past. At 16, she became unexpectedly pregnant. After her boyfriend abandoned her and her parents pressured her to give up the baby, Annette faced an impossible choice. She left Alan at the shelter, hoping for a better future for him than she could provide at that time.
Annette explained that she had since completed her education, remarried, and had another child, Amy. But she never stopped thinking about Alan. «Today, hearing him cry out for his mother, I couldn’t stay away any longer. I need to take him home,» she declared.
Annette initiated the legal process to regain custody of Alan, and DNA tests confirmed their maternal connection. She successfully brought Alan home, but at a great personal cost.
Her parents disowned her, cutting her off completely. Her husband, Jason, disillusioned by the turn of events despite knowing her past, decided to leave her too. «I supported you thinking you’d moved on from your past mistakes. I can’t raise another man’s child,» he said, filing for divorce.
Despite the turmoil, Annette gained custody of both her children. Her parents’ harsh parting words, «Never come to us for money again,» did not faze her. With Alan and Amy by her side, Annette felt her family was finally complete, no matter the sacrifices made along the way.
