A Solider

The story is about a solider in Vietnam who was finally coming home after fought in a war. His parents stay in San Francisco. He called his parents.

“Mom and Dad, I will be at home in couple of days , but I have a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me.

“Sure Son,” they replied, “we’d love to meet your friend.”

“There’s something important you should know,” the son continued, “he was hurt very badly in the war. 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, “Do you know what you are asking? Someone with such a handicap would be a horrible 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 forget about this guy and just come home. He will find a way somehow to live on his own.”

The son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from his son for few days. 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 officials 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.