Becoming his Mom

by Emily Freeman

I don't remember when he started calling me mom.

Maybe it was after that night when we picked him up after he had been abandoned on the curb with all of his belongings.  He sat hunched over on the very top step of the stairs sobbing.  All 6'5 and 290 pounds of him, legs tucked to his chest, shoulders bearing the weight of 18 years of sorrow, giant alligator tears streaming down his face.

When I want to remember what lonely looks like, I remember that image…it's seared right into the deepest parts of me.

It was at that moment that I promised him that I would be there for him always.

…when he was sick with a high fever and chills, I would be there.

…when he exchanged vows with his wife, I would be there.

…when they were in the hospital delivering their first baby, I would be there.

…at Christmas, and on his birthday, and every day in between, I would be there.

I wasn't going anywhere.

I would always be right here, for whatever he needed, whenever he needed it.

"That's what moms do," I remember telling him.

And in that moment, I realized a very important truth ––God decides when, and where, and how you become a mother.  He is the great orchestrator.  He can enlarge the capacity of a heart.  He can forge the deepest bond.  I have delivered four children of my own, but this great big boy is just as much a part of me as they are. I have come to understand something remarkable ––some kids come to us by birth, but some kids come to us by love.

God's love.

There are moments when God reaches down and pricks a heart, He enlarges our capacities, He bestows the gift of His pure love upon us, allowing us to see others as He sees them.  In those moments it is His Grace that enables us to love.

I know, because I have experienced it.

There was a moment when God reached down and touched my heart, and in that sacred moment I became Garett's other mom.

A few nights ago KUTV aired a portion of Garett's story… you can watch it by clicking the link below.  You just can't help but love this kid…

Source: Snow College lineman lives Utah's 'Blind Side' story – KUTV –