A woman who was kicked out by her rich father at sixteen for taking up with a poor man ends up living on the streets with her four children after her husband died.Steve Walton was far from thrilled when his butler told him that Pastor Morris was waiting to see him. He was tired after a long flight from Singapore and in no mood for the man’s lectures or pleas for support for the community. He had the pastor shown in and waved an impatient hand at his greeting. “Get on with it, man!” he snapped. “What is it that you want this time?””Mr. Walton, I saw Susan,” the pastor said quietly, and Steve’s heart nearly stopped. His only daughter had left his house nearly fifteen years before, never to be seen again… “Susan?” Steve cried anxiously.
“Where? When? How is she?” “I was in Los Angeles, helping out a friend who has a mission among the homeless and that’s where I saw her,” the pastor said.”She was a volunteer? Did you tell her I’ve been looking for her?” asked Steve. “No,” Pastor Morris said gently. “She wasn’t a volunteer, Mr. Walton. She’s homeless. She and her children are living in a car.” Steve found himself so dizzy he had to sit down. “Homeless? My Susan? Children?” he gasped. “I’m afraid so,” the pastor said. “And she wouldn’t even listen to me when I told her to come home.””
A well-remembered voice asked from inside the tent, “Preacher Morris?” Then Susan climbed out and Steve could see the shock in her face when she saw him standing next to the pastor. “Daddy?” she asked, and her eyes filled with tears. Steve was shocked. His daughter was barely thirty-one, but she looked much older. Her face was worn and lined with worry and suffering, her hands coarsened by hard work. “Susan,” Steve cried. “Look at you! Look at what HE did to my princess! I wanted so much for you! And you married that loser! What could he give you? Poverty?”Susan shook her head and said, “He loved me, daddy, and he gave me 4 beautiful children. He died, and I had nowhere to go, but I’ve done what I can for my children. I will always love the father of my children, daddy, just like I’ve always loved you.” Steve found that he had tears running down his face.
“Forgive me, Susan,” he sobbed. “Please forgive me. Come home, I want you all to come home with me. Let me help you take care of the children!” Steve found himself holding his weeping daughter and knew that everything was going to be alright. Susan introduced him to his three granddaughters, then she placed her hand on the boy’s shoulder. “And this,” she smiled, “is little Stevie!” “You named him after me?” Steve asked, astounded. “After what I did?””I love you, daddy,” she said softly. “Don’t you know that?” That afternoon, they all flew home to Texas. It was the beginning of a better life for all of them.
