A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having
fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "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."
"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."
"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."
"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."
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 family
forever, regardless of how messed up we are.
Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer
that the Lord 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.
Show your friends how much you care....
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