I once heard a story about a young man who had to stand trial for a crime he was accused of committing. His father, a wealthy and well-known rancher, was present for the proceedings. After cross examination and a jury's deliberation, the young man was found guilty as charged. His punishment was a prison sentence which would take years to complete. As he was handcuffed to be led away to his prison cell, his father looked at his son one last time and said, "I will never forgive you. You have brought disgrace on this family. When you have done your time, you are not welcome home again." The young man hung his head in shame and walked away.
Years past and the man, no longer young, had paid for his crime. With supreme effort, he wrote to his dad begging his forgiveness in the months before his release. In the letter, he wrote:
"Daddy, I am almost ready to be released from prison. I will be on the train that will go right past the ranch. If you have forgiven me, please tie a white ribbon to the tree by the fence. If the white ribbon is not there, I won't get off the train, but will keep on going and will never bother you again."
The days past and the newly released prisoner boarded the train. As the train neared his father's ranch, he couldn't bear to look out the window to see his father's response to his letter. So he asked the man sitting across the aisle if he would look for him.
"Tell me if there is a white ribbon in the tree by the fence."
The other passenger stared out the window as the train passed by the ranch. The man held his breath waiting to hear whether he had been accepted or rejected. He dared to ask,
"Do you see a white ribbon in the tree?"
"No," came the reply. The man's heart fell into his shoes. He had so hoped that time would have softened his father's heart toward him.
"No," the other passenger repeated. "There isn't one white ribbon, but hundreds of white ribbons hanging from all the trees, and all along the fence. What does it mean?"
The forgiven rancher's son jumped for joy.
"What does it mean?" he repeated. "It means that my daddy has forgiven me and I am going home!" he shouted.