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 mined 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!
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at a hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liz who was suffering from a rare & serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her 5-year old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness.
The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the little boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister.
I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes I'll do it if it will save her."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheek. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded.
He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away".
Being young, the little boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give his sister all of his blood in order to save her.
-Author Unknown-
(Written after she found out she was dying from cancer.)- by Erma Bombeck
I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.
I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
I would have talked less and listened more.
I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained or the sofa faded.
I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.
I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.
I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
There would have been more "I love you's." More "I'm sorry's."
But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute, look at it and really see it , live it and never give it back.
+I've learned that we don't have to change friends if we understand that friends change.
+I've learned that no matter how good a friend is, they're going to hurt you every once in a while and you must forgive them for that.
+I've learned that true friendship continues to grow, even over the longest distance. The same goes for true love.
+I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
+I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
+I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words. It may be the last time you see them.
+I've learned that you can keep going long after you can't.
+I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel.
+I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
+I've learned that regardless of how hot and steamy a relationship is at first, the passion fades and there had better be something else to take its place.
+I've learned that heroes are the people who do what has to be done when it needs to be done, regardless of the consequences.
+I've learned that money is a lousy way of keeping score.
+I've learned that my best friend and I can do anything or nothing and have the best time.
+I've learned that sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down, will be the ones to help you get back up.
+I've learned that sometimes when I'm angry I have the right to be angry, but that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.
+I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have.
+I've learned that maturity has more to do with what types of experiences you've had and what you've learned from them, and less to do with how many years you have lived.
+I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself.
+I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
+I've learned that our background and circumstances may have influenced who we are, but we are responsible for who we become.
+I've learned that just because two people argue, it doesn't mean they don't love each other. And just because they don't argue, it doesn't mean they do love each other.
+I've learned that you shouldn't be so eager to find out a secret. It could change your life forever.
+I've learned that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.
+I've learned that your life can be changed in a matter of hours by people who don't even know you.
+I've learned that even when you think you have no more to give, when a friend cries out to you you will find the strength to help.
+I've learned that credentials on the wall do not make you a decent human being.
+I've learned that the people you care about most in life are sometimes taken from you too soon + I've learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is be someone who can be loved. The rest is up to them.
+I've learned that no matter how much I care, some people just don't care back.
+I've learned that it takes years to build up trust, and only seconds to destroy it.
+I've learned that it's not what you have in your life but who you have in your life that counts
+I've learned that you can do something in an instant that will give you heartache for life.
+I've learned that it's taking me a long time to become the person I want to be.
+I've learned that you should always leave loved ones with loving words.It may be the last time you see them.It may be the last time you see them.
+I've learned that we are responsible for what we do, no matter how we feel. I've learned that either you control your attitude or it controls you.
+I've learned that learning to forgive takes practice.
+I've learned that there are people who love you dearly, but just don't know how to show it.
+I've learned that just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. I've learned that it isn't always enough to be forgiven by others. Sometimes you have to learn to forgive yourself
+I've learned that no matter how bad your heart is broken the world doesn't stop for your grief.
