Teen Girl’s Emotional Gift Left Foster Mom in Tears of Joy | It Proved She Had Earned Daughter’s Trust

Raising a child is not an easy job for any parent. Moreover, for people who choose to become foster parents, there are many obstacles along the way before they can earn the trust of a child in their care. Children needing foster care may be dealing with personal trauma or grief making it difficult for them to trust strangers. The actions of foster parents can go a long way in rebuilding trust and confidence in the children.

When foster parents receive love in return from their child, it is bound to make them emotional. It is a sign that their presence has made a positive impact on the child's life. L. Joy Williams, a foster parent was moved to tears when she received a token of appreciation. Since April last year, she has been fostering a young girl after she lost her mother. Recently, the girl turned 14.

For her birthday, the girl brought a gift for Williams. Williams tweeted, "After we sang happy birthday and she opened gifts she then said she had this gift for me." She shared an image of a jewelry box carrying a pendant necklace that spells out the word "Mom." "Excuse me while I go to my room and bawl," she concluded.

After the girl's biological mother died last year, she moved in with Williams and her husband, Miles, in Brooklyn, per TODAY. “This wasn’t a neglect situation. They were best of friends,” Williams shared. “She’s shy and reserved and her mom was her person — the one she could be 100% herself around.”

Williams has fostered children of all ages for seven years. She and her husband are “very mindful of not trying to replace” birth parents. “I can’t imagine losing my mother at such a pivotal stage in my life,” Williams says. “While I would never seek to replace her mom, her gift of recognizing me as a bonus mom to love and nurture her through the remainder of her life means more than I can express in words.”

Williams recently constructed the teen's bedroom in their basement so she can study and talk with friends in privacy. She shared the update via a tweet with photos of the newly constructed room. "She likes it so much she didn’t want to go to school the other day. She absolutely loves it," Williams said.

Williams is extremely happy to see the child growing. "She suffered a tremendous loss, and it brings me comfort when I see her laughing and acting like any other teenager,” she said.

On Twitter, many users appreciated Williams, seeing that the pendant was a clear show of trust from the child. “As a former foster child, that ‘mom’ necklace speaks volumes. It’s not just that you’ve done a great job ‘mom,’ but that she has grown to trust you to be there for her, to trust that you will always have her back, and that she has found a place to call home. She has found peace,” one person wrote. The user further added, “You've given her the gift of love and she is showing you that she is ready to give you the gift of her love. It's a fragile thing, so go gently "mom". She's given you her trust (not easy to do) and she's giving you her love.”

References:

https://www.today.com/parents/moms/foster-mom-necklace-rcna65089

https://twitter.com/ljoywilliams/status/1610803657028833281

https://twitter.com/benni1028/status/1611182517834612736

Cover Image Source: (L) Getty Images | Carol Yepes ; (R) Twitter | @ljoywilliams