I'm not sheepish to say I believe in miracles. This story, about a birth mother who had given up hope on the likelihood of ever finding her "beautiful baby boy with curly hair," is both miraculous in how it played out, and soul-stirring.

If you're familiar with Boston politics, you've surely heard of former city councilor and mayoral candidate Tito Jackson. Jackson knew he was adopted as an infant. His mother, Rachel E. Twymon, was just 13 years old when she was forced to give up her baby.

A middle-school student in Boston at the time, she was raped by two men she knew when she was just 12. It's beyond heartbreaking for me to try to embrace and understand the full enormity of Tymon's emotional sufferings and agonies that eventually led her to desperation and addiction.

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As for her curly-haired baby boy, that a nurse allowed her to hold for a short time, the thought of ever finding him was an unrealistic expectation.

In 2017, after Tito Jackson ran a spirited but failed campaign for mayor of Boston, he decided to give his search for his birth mother one last attempt. A Boston Globe feature has the inside story of the extraordinary journey Jackson took to find his mother, now living in New Bedford. Just thinking about how this all came together, I dissolved into tears.

When Rachel Twymon was asked, she explained that even though bad things happen in life, keeping going is what helped her to hang on. There are many others like her. It may take years or even decades, and it may mean losing belief for a while, but what's meant for you will always be worth the wait.

Phil Paleologos is the host of The Phil Paleologos Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. Contact him at phil@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @PhilPaleologos. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

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