Look What I Found

Redemption. After futilely seeking a sense of meaning for decades, Martin had almost given up hope of finding any sense of belonging. He was illegitimate. He was without family roots. From as long as he could remember, Martin would go to the backyard on his birthday and look to the sky, imagining his mother's voice telling him how special he was, how she loved him, and with her arms around him wishing him a happy birthday. This was a ritual Martin observed every birthday, regardless of the weather. Getting older for Martin wasn't a simple matter of biological aging. Martin had no sense of who he was. His ancestry was unknown. Why had he been dumped on HER doorstep? What was wrong with him? Each successive birthday brought it all home: "I am illegitimate...a bastard...no standing in society...unworthy...hated by God and respectable people...useless."Was life worth living without an identity? If he should overcome that hurdle and be lucky enough to discover his elusive family ties, would he be strong enough to take whatever turned up? Would his family accept him-warts and all?Life prepares us for the inevitable, and when we are strong enough, we are given the opportunity to match that preparedness with reality. Martin was in for a shock when he and his wife took on the adoption bureaucracy and finally discovered the appalling circumstances behind his illegitimacy. As the fateful day he had longed for approached when he would meet his family, he wondered if he would be tough enough to take the truth. Could he handle it? Would he find his redemption?