Where Hope Grows

“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Godspeed Pictures, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #wherehopegrowsmovie http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”

This past weekend was special because it was Mother’s Day and I got to spend time with all my children, all together. As the kids get older, they get busier and moments of togetherness like this become more rare. Being a mom is the best and most rewarding job I’ve ever had. It’s also one of the few jobs in which you receive no training!

This weekend was additionally special because I was able to watch a special preview of the new movie, “Where Hope Grows.” The movie shares the touching story of a retired, alcoholic Major League baseball player named Calvin who enters into an unlikely friendship with Produce, a young man with Down syndrome who works at the local grocery store.

The handsome Calvin has a chip on his shoulder with no sense of purpose or direction in his life. He turns to the bottle to find comfort and solace. Produce is a spiritual young man with a deep faith in God, and it’s this very hope and faith that draws Calvin to him.

Calvin is also raising his teenage daughter by himself, and due to his alcoholism, Kate often finds herself playing the role of the parent. Alcoholism is a sad and frustrating disease. For those of us who don’t have the problem, we think it should just be easy to stop drinking. But having people close to me in life who suffer from alcoholism, I know this simply isn’t the case.

I don’t talk much about my faith here on my blog, but I want to share a bit of it with you now. I had the opportunity a few months ago to attend an open meeting for Alcoholics Anonymous with a friend who is now sober. I have never felt the presence of God as strongly and clearly as I did in that small and crowded meeting room. I’ve been to many places of worship in my life … Baptist, Catholic, Unitarian, Christian Science, Jehovah’s Witness, a Jewish synagogue, and more. But in that AA meeting, I felt Jesus sitting there with us like I’ve never experienced in any church.

He came to heal the sick. He responds to the humble of heart. I looked around that room and saw people who were struggling to piece their lives back together. I saw the look of both hurt and hope in the faces of family members who were there to support them. And I felt the strong presence of God who was there to comfort those that humbled themselves before Him. It was an overwhelming feeling that I simply can’t describe in words. But it made me view alcoholism in a whole new light of compassion and forgiveness.

Watching Where Hope Grows brought it all back to me.

The relationship between Produce and Calvin has its ups and downs, but I don’t want to give away too much of the movie. It opens in theaters on May 15th. Check your local theater for availability and show times.

The actor who plays Produce does an exceptional job. Calvin immediately senses something different about Produce, and it’s not due to the fact he has Down syndrome. Rather, it’s due to his spiritual faith. When my daughter Bridget was little, she was in Sunday School class with a girl named Laura. Laura had Down syndrome and would sometimes act out and make class difficult for others. The experience gave me valuable teaching moments with my daughter and opened her eyes at a young age to be accepting of others who might seem different.

And in reality … we’re all different. It’s my hope as a mother that my children will embrace the unique individuality of others and not be judgmental, but be accepting and understanding.

Here’s the movie trailer for Where Hope Grows, a heart warming story of an unlikely relationship.