CHICAGO --
Dwyane Wade sat in the first pew Sunday afternoon, looked at his mother, and simply couldn't hide his emotions.
She had made him cry often before. This time, it was different.
"This is tears of joy," he said, beaming. "Tears of joy for my mother."
Before she was known as the mother of the Miami Heat superstar and 2006 NBA finals MVP, Jolinda Wade was known as an inmate, a fugitive, a drug user and drug seller. Her life turned around seven years ago when, after years of urging by her children, she got help and got clean. Along the way, she devoted her life to spreading the word of God, starting her first ministry while doing time in state prison.
Now, that ministry has a new home, called the Temple of Praise.
Jolinda Wade's very own church.
Her son bought it, and her children and her congregation gathered to dedicate it Sunday.
"I respect my mother so much, from the life that she used to live and to see her today in the life that she lives. I'm so proud of her," Dwyane Wade told The Associated Press before the service. "Everybody thinks I'm the miraculous story in the family. I think she is. I think what I've done means I've been very blessed, but she's been more than blessed. She's been anointed."
A very heartwarming story. I had no idea about Wade's mother.
