Children who are abandoned by their parents are associated with a range of unspoken emotions. One such abandoned child who longed to visit his mother but was never given the opportunity was Alan, who was six years old.
One day, little Alan’s world changed during a fortuitous meeting at church. He was sobbing and pleading with God to send his mother to him, explaining to him how his life would be very different if she were there.
In the middle of his heartfelt debate with God and loud cries, an odd voice spoke out from behind him, offering to take him.
“Dear Jesus, they say you hear everything. My guardians in the foster home told me to knock on your door and ask for everything I needed. I want my mommy. Can you please send her to me?”
“Alan, my boy! I’ve come for you. I’ve come to take you home.”
Alan cried as he folded his hands in prayer and stared at the crucifix. His eyes were painfully red, and his soft, pink cheeks were wet.
“My nanny told me you answer everyone’s prayers. Then why aren’t answering mine?”
Alan’s shrieking screams reverberated throughout the foyer. He was devastated. Since children there frequently made fun of him, he did not want to go back to the shelter. They made fun of him all the time, saying that he would have to wait for someone to adopt him because his mother would never come back.
Some of the cruelest things he heard from other children in the shelter were, “Nobody would be interested in taking a crybaby like you home.” That day, Alan sobbed uncontrollably and prayed to God for a response.
“Alan, shhh!” his guardian, Nancy, interrupted. “It’s a church. Be quiet, and don’t cry. People are watching you. Please calm down.”
Alan tried to control his tears. He kept staring at the crucifix until he saw a woman with a child enter the church. He could no longer hold back his tears and started crying again.
“Jesus, you’re not answering me. Please, I want to be with my mommy like that girl. Nanny, why is Jesus not answering? You told me he answered all our prayers, but why hasn’t he told me anything?”
Nancy stared at the boy and grinned at his innocent questions.
Suddenly, from behind them, a woman’s voice stated, “I will take you.” “I have come for you, my darling. Stop sobbing, please.
Nancy and Alan were taken aback. When they looked back, the mother with the child Alan had just seen was standing behind them.
“My boy, Alan! I am here to get you. “I am here to bring you home,” she exclaimed.
“Who are you? How do you know the kid’s name?” questioned Nancy, holding Alan tight.
“My name is Annette. I’m Alan’s mother. I come here daily to see him and ensure he’s fine.”
“Your son? Do you have any proof?”
Annette took out a photo of her holding a newborn baby in her arms. “I left him at the shelter’s doorstep six years ago.”
“This is not possible. When I initially took Alan up off the doorstep that wet night, he looked like this. I discovered a baby on the patio after hearing his loud cries. You left your baby, but why? What makes you such a callous mother?
Annette broke down in tears and shared the worst story she had ever heard.
She unintentionally became pregnant with her boyfriend’s child six years ago when she was sixteen years old. He left her and relocated to a different state, preventing her from communicating with him after she told him this. Annette was unable to follow her parents’ advice to end the pregnancy.
“I had to decide between forgetting my parents and the legacy I would inherit or leaving my kid behind. I left my child at the shelter and went on because I was too young and inexperienced to become a mother.
Annette added that she finished college and married another man. The girl with her, Amy, was her daughter from this marriage.
“Despite my best efforts, I was unable to forget my son. I frequently come to this church to observe him from afar. However, I was unable to contain my emotions after listening to him weep for his mother today. I would like to bring him home with me.
Annette quickly started the legal procedures to regain custody of Alan. She and he underwent DNA testing, and the results showed that they were 99 percent identical. She was able to bring Alan home and mend their relationship, but it cost her dearly.
Annette was cut off from her parents’ lives and their will once they turned against her. Even worse, her spouse, who was aware of her dubious past, turned against her.
Because of your candor about your failed connection with your ex-boyfriend and your belief that you would never desire that child again, I married you. However, your parents have now disowned you as well. You see, I refuse to father someone else’s child. Her husband Jason declared, “Our marriage is finished, but I am ready to provide for my daughter financially,” and promptly filed for divorce.
Annette and Jason were divorced shortly after. Annette got custody of her daughter and was delighted to have Alan back.
“Never come to us begging for money again” were the last words she heard her parents tell her, and Annette was fine with that. She felt her life was complete, even without her parents’ approval or their money.
She moved abroad with her two wonderful children, got a good job, and only looks forward to living a happy life.
What can we learn from this story?
Our prayers are answered by God. Alan would weep and beg God to send his mother to him every time he went to church. When he heard a voice offering to take him one day, it was his mother, and his prayers were answered.
Do not leave your kids behind and punish them for a mistake you made. Annette’s parents advised her to leave the baby behind when she became pregnant at the age of 16. Unaware of the impact it would have on her son as he grew up, she followed their instructions and went on.