The best part of Dave’s day was when he picked Sam up from childcare, and his little boy ran to him, arms opened wide. Dave would swing Sam up high and tickle his fat little belly, and his heart would overflow with love.

“Rita,” he’d whisper to his dead wife when he watched Sam sleeping. “I made our dream come true, I filled the hole you and our baby left in my life with love.”

The years went by, and Sam grew as fast as any other child. The doctor said his heart was just fine. He was a happy, friendly boy who made friends out of everyone he met. No one could resist Sam and his happy grin!

The phone was constantly ringing with invitations for sleepovers and playdates, and Dave could hardly keep up with Sam’s busy social life!

Then Sam turned twelve, and he started wanting to go out with his friends on his own like the big boy he was. It wasn’t easy for Dave, but like every other parent, he learned to give his son space.

Then one day, he received a phone call from a lawyer. “Mr. Wallace,” the man said. “I’m calling on behalf of your adoptive son’s birth parent…”

“What do you want?” Dave asked sharply.

“I would like to talk to you…” the lawyer said.

“I’m not interested,” Dave said. “Those people abandoned my son. There’s nothing you could say that I want to hear.”

“Please, Mr. Wallace,” the lawyer said. “For Sam’s sake.”

Reluctantly, Dave agreed to meet the lawyer. As soon as he arrived, the man handed Dave a letter. “This will explain everything so much better than I ever could, Mr. Wallace,” he said.

Dave opened the envelope and started reading: “Dear Mr. Wallce, if you are reading this, I’m finally at rest with my beloved wife. I thank you for loving my sweet Sam and for caring for him.

“Before Sam was born, the doctors told us he had Down syndrome, and it made no difference to us. We welcomed him joyfully. We imagined we’d have many long and happy years as a family, but it was not to be.

“When Sam was three months old, he was in the hospital for some tests. My wife, Emily, and I drove to the hospital to pick him up, and we were hit by a truck.

“Emily died instantly, I survived, but as a quadriplegic. For these last twelve years, I’ve been a dead man who still breathed and cried and cursed God.

“I was not the father Sam deserved. I wanted better for my son, so I placed him for adoption. I was right, Mr. Wallace, because you took my boy in and you’ve been the best father.

“One day, I want you to be able to tell Sam that his birth parents loved him and wanted him. I don’t ever want my boy to think we abandoned him.

“Please, tell him! My lawyer will give you the papers for Sam’s trust fund which will be in your hands. Thank you again, Mr. Wallace, for loving my Sam, for being the father I should have been.”

The lawyer gave Dave access to Sam’s trust fund which came to $1.2 million, money which he vowed would secure his son’s future, just as his biological father had wished.

Dave wondered if the families who had turned away from Sam would have turned down the money if they had known it existed! Sam’s biological father had been right to hide his fortune, so his son could be loved for himself.

What can we learn from this story?

• Don’t give yourself up to bitterness and anger. Fill your heart with love. Dave chose to turn away from his grief and pour all the love in his heart into a needy child.
• Parents will make the most heartbreaking decisions for their children’s welfare. Sam’s father gave him up so he could have a normal childhood with a loving family.

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