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 was hurt pretty badly
in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine
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 away 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.


Be careful with your
mouse in this area

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.

Ephesians 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given himself
 for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for
a sweetsmelling savour.
 Ephesians 5:10 Proving what is acceptable
 unto the Lord.

Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to
another with brotherly love; in
honour preferring one another;

Romans 13:8 Owe no man any thing,
 but to love one another: for he that
loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

 Galatians 5:13 For, brethren, ye have been
called unto liberty; only use not
liberty for an occasion to the flesh,
but by love serve one another.

1John 2:6 He that saith he abideth
in Him ought himself also so to walk,
even as He walked.

2John 1:6 And this is love, that we walk
after his commandments. This is the
commandment, That, as ye have heard from
the beginning, ye should walk in it.