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!!!