A story is told about a soldier who was
finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam.
He called his parents from San Francisco.
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"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a
favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home
with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
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"There's something you should know the son
continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the
fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm
and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him
to come live with us."
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"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can
help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
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"Son," said the father, "you don't know what
you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be
a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to
live, and we can't let something like this interfere
with our lives. I think you should just come home
and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live
on his own."
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At that point, the son hung up the phone. The
parents heard nothing more from him. A few days
later, however, they received a call from the San
Francisco police. Their son had died after falling
from a building, they were told. The police believed
it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to
San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to
identify the body of their son. They recognized him,
but to their horror they also discovered something
they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one
leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us.
We find it easy to love those who are good-looking
or fun to have around, but we don't like people who
inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We
would rather stay away from people who aren't as
healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully,
there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone
who loves us with an unconditional love that
welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of
how messed up we are.
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Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the
>night, say a little prayer that God will give you
>the strength you need to accept people as they are,
>and to help us all be more understanding of those
>who are different from us!!! There's a miracle
>called Friendship That dwells in the heart You don't
>know how it happens Or when it gets started But you
>know the special lift It always brings And you
>realize that Friendship Is God's most precious gift!
>Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you
>smile and encourage you to succeed They lend an ear,
>they share a word of praise, and they always want to
>open their hearts to us.