Unconditional Love

A man at our church spoke on a recent Sunday about unconditional love.  He talked eloquently about his own personal life and the unconditional love he has experienced, beginning with his mother and father who adopted him when he was an infant.  He spoke of a young man he had taught, a young man whose life was ended early and tragically.  He spoke of the surprising unconditional love that he found in the boy's mother, who was grateful for having had her son at all.  She was even forgiving of those who had killed him.  The man ended his remarks at that church service, saying that it's important to love unconditionally when it's easy, but it's even more important to do so when it's hard.  His words really resonated with me.  Do I love unconditionally, even when I'm unhappy with someone or feel that I or someone else has been wronged?  Am I as forgiving as the mother who had lost her son?  I'm thankful for that special message at church that day and for the work I realize I have to do in order to really love unconditionally, in easy times and in hard.