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 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….