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A Valentine's Gift, A Mother's Answered Prayer: Mother Reunites with Son After 22 Years
A Valentine's Gift, A Mother's Answered Prayer: Mother Reunites with Son After 22 Years 2/14/13
Ashley Melnick
amelnick@cbs7.com
CBS 7 News
February 14, 2013
AlPINE-It's a story that sounds straight out of movie.
A mother separated from her son is finally reunited after 22 years by a ticket on Amtrak.
But Mary Farmer, this joyous event didn't come without its challenges.
"When he was about 2-1/2, 3 years old, I took him to my mother's in West Virginia because I knew I was facing some prison time," said Farmer.
And behind bars is where Mary turned her life around.
She said it was when a man, she never met, said he had a message for her.
"And he told me God does, and His message is He loves you," said Famer. "No matter how big of a screw up you are, He loves you. period."
But once Mary was released from prison, she faced yet another obstacle with her mother.
"She wrote me and told me that she would not allow me to have anything to do with him," said Farmer.
Years passed, without any contact from her son Kyle.
But two years ago, Facebook connected the two.
"About six weeks ago, he was saying he couldn't find a descent job and I told him, 'well you could always come home!', said Farmer.
And Kyle agreed.
As the trained stopped in Alpine, Texas, Farmer anxiously looked for her son.
Kyle was one of the last one's to step off the train, but the wait was well worth it.
You could call it the perfect Valentine's gift, but Mary said it was more.
"An answered prayer," said Farmer. "I got my baby back."
Although Kyle looked at his mom, speechless and at times in awe, Mary knew one thing.
"I am an ex-con, and the things that I went through, and that I learned from: it was not me, but God," said Farmer. "He has turned my life totally around."
And brought these two together at a small station in far west Texas.
And whether people were arriving or departing this day-- love was all around.