Unconditional Love

In the midst of tragedy I had the opportunity to see Christianity in its truest form. We often ask ourselves "What would Jesus do?" Well, I believe that the following is exactly what He would do.

I was awakened by a member of the bishopric a couple weeks ago. He told me that our dear friends had just lost their only child in a car accident. I woke up Scott and we headed directly to our friends house. My heart ached for them as we drove. I can't even imagine the amount of grief they were going through. We hadn't seen our friends for awhile....but when we arrived and embraced it was as though we had always been right there. There was great love in the room in the midst of tremendous grief.

There was another young man involved in the accident. He was driving. He had been drinking and the car rolled. He survived. I wondered how you would face someone after that kind of accident. We went over to our friends a couple days later and the other young man was there. Our friends had asked him to come over. They told him that they forgave him....and that alone is an amazing thing considering the circumstances. Our friends went even further than that. They told this young man that they didn't want this to ruin his life. They would stand up in court and ask for a light sentence....hopefully community service. Okay.....so now this would be complete love and forgiveness but the story isn't over. When we arrived the morning of the funeral our friend pointed out this young man to us and asked Scott to go speak to him. He was concerned that some of the others might give him a hard time. It was quickly apparent how visibily shaken this young man was. He had lost a dear friend and nothing he could do could bring him back. The funeral was full of people from all walks of life. It was obvious that our friends son was a person that loved everyone....and celebrated their differences. He was accepting of all. No wonder he had parents that were so loving and forgiving. They had raised this young man to love everyone. I have never seen our chapel look so wonderful. I believe it was just as the Savior would have wanted. Instead of a sea of white shirts and ties....the pews were filled to capacity with those who loved this young man. Some wore shirts with pictures of our friends son on them. The service was beautiful and emotional. When I thought my heart was full and I couldn't witness more love we went in to watch a slide show and have the family dinner....and they other young man in the accident sat right there at the table with our friends. What a remarkable lesson this was for me. I think we can all learn something from the life our friend's son led....and from our friends. I'm blessed to have them in our lives and I'm forever grateful for the example they taught me of unconditional love and forgiveness. I'm grateful for the son they raised and for his compassion and love for everyone....not just for those that were like him. I hope that I have raised my children like this.