05/11/2025
Making a difference
My son Andrew will never get married. He won’t have children, won’t drive a car, and won’t experience many of the things we consider normal, even taken for granted…
But he is happy. And he is healthy.
And that, to me, is all that matters.
When a stranger responds to him with a smile, my whole day lights up. When a girl gives him a kind look, joy bursts not only on his face but through every movement of his body.
It doesn’t take much to be deeply human.
Here is the story:
During a party held at a school for children with special needs, the father of one of the students gave a moving speech that stayed in the hearts of everyone present.
After thanking the school and the staff who work with dedication and heart, he shared a reflection:
"When nothing disturbs the balance of nature, the natural order of things reveals itself in all its harmony."
Then he added, with a trembling voice:
"But my son Herbert doesn’t learn like the others. He doesn’t understand like they do.
So… where is the natural order of things in his case?"
Silence fell over the room.
The father continued:
"I believe that when a child like Herbert is born, with a physical or mental disability, the world is given a rare opportunity: the chance to show the true essence of the human spirit.
And that essence is revealed in how others receive and treat him."
Then he shared a memory:
One day, he was walking with Herbert near a field where some boys were playing soccer. Herbert looked and asked:
— Dad, do you think they’ll let me play with them?
The father knew that, in most cases, the answer would be “no.”
But he also knew that, if they said yes, that simple gesture would give his son a priceless sense of belonging and dignity.
So he timidly approached one of the boys and, without expecting much, asked if Herbert could join the game. The boy looked at his friends, hesitated for a moment, then said:
— We’re losing 3 to 0, there are ten minutes left… Sure, let him come. We’ll let him take a penalty kick.
Herbert ran to the bench with a huge smile. He put on the team jersey while his father, eyes brimming with tears, watched with a full heart.
For the rest of the game, Herbert stayed on the sidelines, beaming.
The boys slowly began to understand what the father saw: his son had been accepted.
Then, in the final minute, Herbert’s team earned a penalty kick.
The boy who had first welcomed him turned to the father and nodded:
— It’s his turn.
Herbert approached the penalty spot with uncertain steps, ball in hand.
The goalkeeper understood right away. He stood between the posts… and then slowly dove to one side, leaving the goal wide open.
Herbert kicked softly. The ball rolled slowly across the line.
Goal.
His teammates erupted in cheers.
They lifted him in the air, hugged him, celebrated him as if he had just scored the winning goal in the World Cup final.
The father ended, his voice broken with emotion:
“That day, a group of boys made a choice…
not to win a game,
but to give the world a lesson in kindness, humanity, and love.”
Herbert didn’t see the next summer. He passed away that winter.
But he never forgot that for one day, he was a hero.
And his father never forgot coming home that night, watching Herbert’s mother hold him in her arms, crying with joy, as he told her about the most beautiful goal of his life.
A reflection on this message:
Every day, we share dozens of jokes, videos, and frivolous content without thinking twice.
But when we come across a story that brings meaning, value, and beauty… we hesitate.
We wonder: Who can I send this to?
Who will truly understand it?
Know that the person who sent you this message believes in you.
They believe that you, too, can be a link in this chain of humanity.
Because each day gives us countless opportunities to restore some order, empathy, and warmth to the world.
As a great man once said:
"A society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members."
