A Friend in Need
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.
Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the
night, imagine
that you have the strength you need to accept
people as
they are and are 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 life'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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