The center for the Los Angeles Lakers, Christian Wood, surprised his mother Jeanette Stewart on New Year’s Day with a dream home, fulfilling a sincere promise. 

“Life’s objective. I made a financial promise to my mother when I was 18 that I would buy her the home of her dreams before I turned 30. Now, fast forward, I accomplished that! I cherish you.”

Wood promised his mother when he was a teenager that he would purchase her ideal house before he was thirty. The 28-year-old kept his word and posted pictures of the touching event to social media, showing his love for his mother and the achievement of a lifelong dream.

Wood was disappointed to not be selected in the first round of the draft when he first started his career. Stewart, his single mother, raised him and his two siblings. He was motivated to keep going though by his mother’s support and faith in his aspirations. After the draft, she consoled him in a casino by telling him that failures wouldn’t determine his destiny.

In addition to being a story of personal achievement, Wood’s path from hardship to success and the keeping of a promise to his mother is also a heartwarming illustration of thankfulness and perseverance in the face of difficulties. The gesture symbolizes the close relationship that existed between Wood and his mother, who was essential in forming his tenacity and fortitude.