Before reading the rest of this story, you might want to check out PART ONE so’s you won’t be totally lost.

Anyway, I caught up with Stinky just in time for his big circus show and he got me some good seats up front; so close I could count the hairs on the horse ridin’ girl’s upper lip. To be honest, I’ve seen more entertaining shows during the intermission of the pig races at the fair; but I enjoyed watchin’ Stinky as he watched me to make sure I was watchin’ him.

When the dust settled and all the poop was scooped, me and him went out for some dinner at some local pancake house. We talked for hours. The conversation consisted of talking about our days of chasing women, fishin’ and skeet shootin’, dentures and dogs, TV shows and auto parts… then we got to talking about our younguns.

Stinky asked me about my three and how they was doing. This gave me an opportunity to brag about Stacey’s new husband and his good job at UPS. I told him about Brad going to community college and how proud I was. I even had to hold back a tear when I told him that Chase made Honor Roll in school. Then it hit me like two tons of manure in john boat and I got that sinking feeling when I remembered that Stinky’s boy is currently servin’ time for some mess he did a couple years back.

You see, Jeff (Stinky’s son) had always had trouble keeping his hands off other peoples stuff. But he never did have an eye for the finer things in life. At seventeen he decided to break into this old camaro and steal an 8-track stereo of all things. I don’t even think he’d ever seen an 8-track before. Then he musta took a liking to his football coach’s pickup truck., cause even though the doors and hood didn’t match the rest of the truck, he took that thang out on the town one night. Yeah, he’s been in trouble off and on since he was old enough to spit.

Anyway, after bragging on my kids for quite some time I reluctantly brought up Jeff and asked how he was. Stinky told me about how Jeff got his GED and has applied for a work program with the corrections office. He mentioned that Jeff has a girlfriend on the outside who brings him money and cigarettes every so often. He then went on to discuss the emotional toll that the whole thing was taking on his family and how the rest of the family has quit calling and seemed to turn their backs on them.

Well the mood got pretty somber and Stinky got to crying a little bit but that didn’t stop him from talking and I soon realized that he won’t crying cause of all the trouble Jeff has caused; he was in tears because of how much he loved that boy. He began to recall how happy he was when Jeff called at Christmas and how Jeff seemed to really want to do right this time.

It was then that I figured out that Stinky loves that boy just as much as I love my three. Even with all of the problems that Jeff had caused, he still captured every waking thought and Stinky still loved him just as much as the day he was born.

Aint that just like God; putting that kind of love in us so that we can catch a glimpse of His love? I now have a better understanding of Unconditional Love.

You see, God don’t love us because of how good we’ve been or how much we’ve prayed or read His word. His love is not based on certain conditions. If that were so, His love would change as our spiritual conditions change. That’s why they call it Unconditional.

Friends, no matter where you are or what you’ve done, you are on His mind and in His heart. There is no way for you to escape God’s love. The love we have for our kids is just a vague glimpse of the Father’s love. Let’s take time to ponder just how much He loves us today.

Love to all,

Rich