“This is what our love is––a sacred pattern of unbroken unity sewn flawlessly invisible inside all other images, thoughts, smells, and sounds.” ― Aberjhani, The River of Winged Dreams

“Once you learn to accept and love them for who they are, you subconsciously learn to love yourself unconditionally.” — Yvonne Pierre, “The Day My Soul Cried: A Memoir”

“The little girl expects no declaration of tenderness from her doll. She loves it, & that’s all. It is thus that we should love.” ― Remy de Gourmont, Philosophic Nights in Paris,: Being Selections from Promenades Philosophiques

“Love hard when there is love to be had. Because perfect guys don’t exist, but there’s always one guy that is perfect for you.” — Bob Marley

A soldier was finally returning home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home but, I’ve got a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring 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 landmine 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. They were told their son had died after falling from a building. 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. That Person is Jesus Christ. He beckons all to come to Him irrespective of their handicap.

– Author Unknown

Meditation: But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. – Luke 6:32