**A Soldiers Story** A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought Boko Haram in the North. He called his parents from Maiduguri. Mom and Dad, Im coming home, but Ive a favor to ask. I have a friend Id like to bring home with me. Sure, they replied, well love to meet him. Theres something you should know, the son continued, he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on an explosive and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us. Im 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 dont know what youre asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we cant let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. Hell 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 Maiduguri Police Station. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to Borno State 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 didnt know, their son had only one arm and one leg. Moral: 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 dont like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who arent as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Ask yourself this question, if that person is your blood relative, will you still treat them that way? I pray that God will give us the strength to accept people as they are, and to be more understanding of those who are different from us! -M.D.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 20:40:52 +0000
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