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 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 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 Fancisco 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 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!!!

There's a miracle called Friendship

That dwells in the heart

You don't know how it happens

Or when it gets started

But you know the special lift

It always brings

And you realize that Friendship

Is God's most precious gift!

Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed.

They make you smile and encourage you to succeed

They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they

Always want to open their hearts to us.

Show your friends how much you care....

Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a friend for life.

This page is dedicated to Cindy, the person that sent this story to me. Thank you Cindy for sharing it with all of us. I would like to put a few of my thoughts in here too. You know many times there are people out there in the world that can and do love unconditionally, but many times we are pushed away by the people that we love unconditionally. I know that many times in my own life time I have been pushed away without a reason as to why. God loves each of us unconditionally, that means that He loves us no matter what, however, He may not like what we do sometimes, but He still loves us. There are many people out there including myself that can love people just the way they are unconditionally. Now that doesn't mean that I am always going to agree with everything that you do or say, but that I will love you anyways.