English Lover
17-02-2006, 02:23 AM
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home from
the war. He called his parents
"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.
the war. He called his parents
"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.