Hi Donald,
You have probably heard this but it is good enough to hear again.
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!!!
dan |
