By Allison Mantakul/reporter
NW students learned about unconditional love April 2.
Local architect Jeff Stewart is a husband and father of 10. Four are adopted, two sons from Guatemala, one son and one daughter from Haiti.
“I love you even though you’re different,” is what unconditional love is, he said. “Love is real and emotional.”
Unconditional love can be witnessed from marriage, others, family and faith, Stewart said. He told students personal experiences of himself witnessing unconditional love.
To illustrate witnessing love through others, Stewart shared a story walking down the street with his daughter when he stopped to give a homeless woman change. He sat next to her and took the time to find out how she was doing. At the end of the conversation, the woman kissed him on the cheek. In that moment, he realized that was unconditional love.
“Unconditional love knows no boundaries,” he said.
Witnessing love through family has nothing to do with skin color, Stewart said. They’re brothers just being together, he said after showing a photo of his two sons. It’s about love and about family.
To Stewart, unconditional love is not about self. It’s all about others. It has no boundaries defined by geography, race, gender, class or status. And it’s available to give at all times in all places.
Stewart challenged the students to make their next thought or action about someone and not about themselves, to do something for someone and not expect anything back.
NW student Jose Zubia thought the presentation was meaningful and gave him a different outlook on all people.
“It’s all about the little things you can do to give to people,” he said. “I think people can learn from this and learn to be selfless and help others.”
