Unconditional Love

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

 

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home

after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents

from San Francisco.

 

“Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve a favor to ask.

I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me.”

 

“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”

 

“There’s something you should know,” the son continued,

“he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped

on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has

nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”

 

“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him

find somewhere to live.”

 

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

 

“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking.

Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden

on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let

something like this interfere with our lives. I think

you should just come home and forget about this guy.

He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

 

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents

heard nothing more from him.

 

A few days later, however, they received a call from the

San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling

from a building, they were told. The police believed it

was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San

Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify

the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their

horror they also discovered something they didn’t know,

their son had only one arm and one leg.

 

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it

easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have

around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us

or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away

from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart

as we are.

 

Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way.

Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that

welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how

messed up we are.

 

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night,

say a little prayer that God will give you the strength

you need to accept people as they are, and to help us all

be more understanding of those who are different

from us!!!

 

There’s a miracle called Friendship that dwells in the

heart. You don’t know how it happens or when it gets

started but you know the special lift It always brings

and you realize that Friendship is God’s most precious

gift!

 

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you

smile and encourage you to succeed. They lend an ear,

they share a word of praise, and they always want

to open their hearts to us.