“You want me to run the grocery store just to maintain your family heritage??” I argued with my parents. It was just a week after my graduation.

Everything was smooth, or so I thought, until my dad told me he wanted to discuss my future. I thought he would honor my dream of becoming a lawyer. But I was in for a shock when he told me I had to take over the family business…

Fighting cases, standing for justice… I was dreaming big. But my dad burst the bubble, saying, “Listen, Meghan, it’s our family business. You are nineteen and old enough to take it up. You have no choice.”

“You want me to sacrifice my dream to sit at the counter collecting bills and stocking items instead of establishing a name for myself?? I want to become a lawyer, not a grocery retailer, dad,” I argued, but he wouldn’t listen.

So, I broke open another truth that enraged him… the one about my secret marriage to Dave, a guy eight years older than me whom I dated for six months.

Forgiveness is the most beautiful and purest form of love. You become stronger when you forgive others.

“How could you drag our names to the streets? What will people say? How will we face our friends and family in the church??” my parents shamed me. But what was done could not be undone. I was married, and my parents had to accept it whether they liked it or not.

But what had prompted me to marry Dave secretly?

I respected my parents, but deep inside, I was haunted by this strange feeling that they would clip my wings and stop me from flying high to achieve my dreams.

And when I met Dave, a wealthy young man from a well-established family, we fell in love. He respected my ambition, and it drew me closer to him. I was afraid my parents would barricade my visions, so I secretly married Dave before I could lose him to my parents’ stereotypical views.

But I had to pay a hefty price for ruining their dreams — My parents kicked me out and cut me off from their lives.

“Don’t ever come back to us,” they said and threw me out with my luggage. It was the biggest blow I’d ever faced.

After my parents kicked me out, Dave became my greatest support. He took me to his house, promised me a good future, and even enrolled me in law school. I didn’t have a penny to spare, but Dave offered me all the financial and emotional support I needed to break free of my fears and pursue my dreams.

Years passed, and my parents never contacted me. Not that I forgot about them, but they wronged me in every aspect. I could not forgive them and assumed we were better apart. I graduated with a law degree, and my next big struggle was finding a job. Nobody wanted to hire me without prior experience.

Did I make the wrong decision, then? Should I have listened to my parents?

My heart told me otherwise, so I kept fighting for three years, and out of the blue, one law firm offered to hire me for good pay. I was surprised, and it seemed like a miracle to me.

Dave and I were so happy. It doubled our joy when I was already pregnant with my third baby. I dedicated my heart and soul to my job. I had been living my dreams for years when one day, my eldest son, Eddie, 12, brought home some guests.

“Mom, look who’s come! Surprise!!” he cheered. I turned around and didn’t know whether to scream with joy or cry or lock myself away in my room.

“Mom? Dad? What are you doing here?” I gasped.

I looked at Eddie for answers. But he shyly smiled and said: “Mom, grandpa wants to tell you something!” He then took his younger siblings, Ricky and Kevin, outside so I could talk to my parents, something I hadn’t done in fourteen years.

I remembered telling my son Eddie two weeks ago about his grandparents and my lost connection with them. But how did he find them? I didn’t tell him where they lived. How did he convince them to meet me?

I was confused and did not know how to start or what to talk about. Suddenly, my dad stepped forward, and as he held my hand, apologizing for kicking me out, he made another confession I was unprepared for. I was deeply shaken by the emotional truth he revealed.

“Please forgive me, darling,” he began. “I wanted to talk to you after that, but I couldn’t do it. Then when I heard about your struggles to find a job, I had an idea.”

“Dad, what are you talking about? What idea?” I interrupted.

“Darling, I was looking for a way to make up for my mistake. When I learned about your struggles to find a job, I talked to an old friend in a law firm, and he hired you!”

I was floored because the dream career I enjoyed and tasted success at actually came through my father. He was behind my success, and I didn’t know it. How could I have been so ungrateful and resentful of him? Why did I not try to mend my relationship with my parents?

“Dad, why did you not tell me??” I cried.

“I genuinely wanted you to be successful, darling,” my dad said, wiping away my tears. “I realized what an idiot I was! I wanted to reach out to you, but I was afraid after what I did. I burned bridges with you, but I still loved you… I still do!”

I hugged my dad and cried on his shoulder. It was such a beautiful feeling that made my heart lighter and happier. But something still eluded me. How did Eddie know where my parents lived? I only told him a part of my past, but how did he fully uncover it? I got some surprising answers when my son walked in moments later…

“Did you like my surprise, mom??” he chimed in as my other two children hugged their grandparents.

“Eddie??!” I ran and hugged my son. “Thank you so much! But how did you know their address? I never told you…”

“Mom, after you told me about grandpa and grandma, I found your old diary in the attic. I found their address and pictures in it. I visited them after school yesterday. They told me how sorry and ashamed they were for kicking you out. So, I devised a plan to reunite you with them!”

I was touched. Nothing could’ve moved me to tears more than what Eddie had done that day. It was so special and heartwarming. That one day brought new meaning to my life. I learned that forgiveness is the most beautiful form of love and makes one even stronger.

I forgave my parents and invited them for dinner the next day. They dropped by with presents and homemade desserts I loved. When my parents met my husband, Dave, for the first time, they realized he was a wonderful man. They apologized to him, and we spent the rest of the evening chatting about only the good memories in our lives.

“Thank you, sweetie!!” I whispered and blew a gentle kiss to my son Eddie. My parents and I were ever grateful to him for helping us fix our flaws and travel together as one happy family on our beautiful journey of life.