ALS-Stricken NFL Star’s Pledge To His Son Reveals A Tiny Taste Of God’s Love For Us

Rated R For “Real Life”

“My number one purpose and focus is to share with you who I am and to give you as much of myself as I can…” The father’s love that compelled Steve Gleason to begin a video blog for his unborn child is a tiny taste of that love-beyond-our-ability-to-comprehend that God our Father has for each one of us. This is what stayed with me as I watched Steve’s symptoms worsen, through the laughter and tears, birth and joy, pain and reconciliation, fear and courage.

Now don’t get the wrong idea, this is a rated “R” movie and Gleason’s not some holy roller. Rather than spouting platitudes he spouts the occasional vulgarity. The documentary “Gleason” is not a veiled excuse to proselytize the faithless, it’s an up close and very personal look into the life of a man who said, “I have this diagnosis and it’s not going to crush my life even if it is going to crush my body.”

This movie doesn’t have the graphic violence, gratuitous nudity, or the pornographic sexuality that usually fills moves who earn the “R” rating. It does have profanity. Sometimes cringe-worthy profanity, but to me it wasn’t intrusive. It’s part of the raw suffering we see at times, it’s as though invited over for a visit into Gleason’s personal life and what we see is what we get. Steve is who he is: courageous, loving, driven, wild, sometimes sensitive, and imperfect.

Passing on the Best Parts

Divorce can hinder our ability to share who we are with our child in the everyday ways that come naturally. We may feel angry, frustrated, betrayed, or cheated. But Steve Gleason has shown us that we always have choices. Sometimes it takes courage and perhaps a bit of creativity, but at the end of the day, it’s not about what we buy them, where we take them, or how many things we say “yes” to. It’s about giving of ourselves to our children, sharing who we are with them.

God’s love sustains us, our faith sustains us. This is part of “who we are” that our children desperately need to know, just as we desperately need to continue learning more and more about God our Father’s love for us.

Amanda Rose is a divorced Catholic mom who also writes at DivorcedCatholicMoms.com and LittleStepsAlongTheWay.com.

Gleason is distributed by Open Road Films.