A prayer for my son

A few weeks ago I took Trey to the park. It was too cold to get out of the car. We drove around for a bit. He likes to look at the lake and the ducks and geese. I parked the car near the water and almost instantly we were surrounded by a mob of feathered beggars. It was obvious that these birds were used to receiving a free snack from parked cars. I couldn't resist indulging in this little past time. I wanted to see what Trey would think of feeding the ducks.

He loved it. (Of course! What's not to love?) He giggled and squealed while he tossed french fries out the window. Then I heard him say. "Oooo! That duck is beautiful!". (When he said it, it really sounded like boooteeful. But you get the idea. )

I strained to look behind me for what had caught his eye. Coming toward the masses was a gray goose. It walked with a limp and was not moving too quickly. This goose also had a broken or deformed wing. The wing on its left side was splayed forward in an unnatural angle. This awkward lie made the goose's feathers fan out like a peacocks tail. Some of the other geese pecked at it as it came closer, most ignored it. But my son thought this goose was the most beautiful bird in the park. He tried very hard to toss his french fries to this particular goose and he was thrilled when the goose with the broken wing finally got a fry.

So this is my prayer for my little boy: may he always see the beautiful side of people, even when the rest of the flock finds someone to be different. This would make me a very proud mother.