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 got
a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring with me.”
“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.” “There’s
something you should know,” the son continued, “he 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 a 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.
Lesson from the Inspiring Story:
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.
Author Unknown
Author Unknown
