The Soldier
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 him
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.
Take a moment and let everyone that you care about know
that you love them and care for them
because sometimes
tomorrow is too late.
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