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Once upon a time, in America, there was
a man of much
wealth. He inherited much from his parents but he
had
worked hard and made most of his money. He owned
a
business and was a good boss who paid his employees
well. In
return they worked hard and made him wealthier.
He met a
beautiful woman, they fell in love and got married.
A few years
later the wife gave birth to a son. Unfortunately
due to
complications giving birth to that son, the wife was
unable to
have other children.
When the son was born, the father
started a very lucrative ,
trust fund, as his parent had done for
him, to be given to
the son on his twenty first birthday. The
father doted over his son
and was a very good father. He made
plenty of time to be
with the son. He went with the boy to the
first day of school
and to his little league games. They went
fishing and camping
and had a very close relationship as the boy
was growing up.
When the son was twelve the man's wife died. The
father and
son continued having their close ties after her
death.
When the son was in high school he fell in with the
wrong
crowd and started giving his father problems. The father
did
his best to help his son, sending him to counseling and
finally
trying tough love by cutting out the allowance he gave
to
him. The son had started to use drugs and alcohol while
partying with his friends. The father also forbid the son
to
see those bad friends but was unsuccessful in keeping him
away from them. When the son reached twenty one he took
the
trust fund his father had set up for his future, which by
then
was millions. The father couldn't stop this but he told
his son
if he used the money to keep up this destructive
lifestyle, he
should not return home. However the son
didn't listen and with
the money went out on his own.
The father was lonely after
his son left. He met a widow
with two girls and soon they
married. He was as good a father to
his step daughters as he had
been to his son. However he
missed his son greatly and longed to
see him again. He hired
private detectives to find his son but
they were unsuccessful.
Meanwhile the son was spending the
money and living a very
high lifestyle, so was all his friends.
Then when the money
was all gone the friends left the son alone
and broke. The son
then roamed from place to place staying in
homeless shelters
and often eating out of garbage
cans.
One day when he was eating out of the garbage can at a
mansion, he began to think about his father. His father had
always given much to his employees and would always
lend a
hand when they needed help. He decided to go back
and ask his
father for a job in his business.
When the son came to his
father's office, the older man was
so happy to see him. Before
the son could ask for a job, his
father embraced him, called the
tailor to bring him new
clothes, and a restaurant to bring food.
The son told his
father all the trust fund was gone and he had
nothing. The
father answered he did have something, the love of
his father
and he was welcome to come home.
Like this
father, no matter how bad we are or how long we
stray away, Our
Father is always there with open arms to
welcome us
home.
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