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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 forever family, regardless of how
messed up we are.
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. Show your friends how much you care.... |
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