Will you make a difference?

I have posted two stories today and one of them is an invitation to you so be sure and read two stories and both are short.

This is a true story that has happened over the last year and it represents the values of individuals and what I think comes from the Osage.

There is a young man who has down syndrome who struggles with communicating the basic things in life.  He loves people (shouldn't we) and he never meets a stranger because he does not care what your color is or what you look like, where you have been or where you are going.  He does not care how rich or how poor you are or considers the house you live in or the car you drive.  To him you are a person and you have value.  If you ask him to pray for you he will NOT forget and he will not say he will pray and then never follows through.  He prays for the al-Quida and he prays for the President, just like the Bible teaches.  He does not care if you have tattoos or ear rings or nose rings (I have to admit I do).  He does not judge in a critical way.  You can sure tell it is not me.

He struggles keeping a job because he does not understand when people laugh and he might tell you to "shut up" not because you were wrong in your laughter but because he does not understand.  He wants a job.  Not because he needs money but because he wants the satisfaction of a job.  He is great at busing tables and great at rolling flatware into napkins and he does not hesitate to clean up someone else's mess.

But here is a story he created but not intentionally.  The names have been changed but I want you to hear how you can make a difference just by being a friend.  That boy with down syndrome is our son, Preston, age 23.

Preston - Ranger by uniform and prayer worrier

Steve Davis - Ranger and cousin who gave Preston his uniform shipped from Afghanistan

This is a summary of an email by my wife:

Over the last year Preston has built a friendship with two employees of a local convenience store in Edmond, Martha and Brad.  My wife shared a piece of literature from our church with Brad who had become a close friend of Preston.   Brad resigned from his job but this opened the door as one of the girls, Martha asked Shouna and Preston to pray for her.  This week she shared with Shouna the need to try God's ways in her life as her ways were not working.  Today, Shouna asked her to be in a Bible study and she said, "that would be a very good idea and my friend would probably like to come as well." 


What did I learn from Preston who has down syndrome:

•  We can all make a difference if we just try to be friendly
• Don't ever judge 
• Be consistent in caring for people
• We can change the world, one friend at a time

Challenge yourself to do something for somebody even if you do not feel like it, it makes a difference.

Thanks for your time,
gary@thepioneerman.com