Years ago, my aunt gave me several hand-me-down books, among them a beautifully written and illustrated book called The Crippled Lamb (not crazy about that word, so I just subbed it out with "special" when I read it to my daughter) by Max Lucado. I cried as I read it to my daughter tonight (It was the first time I read it to Holly, and the first time I saw it since Max's diagnosis.) It's the story of a little lamb whose leg doesn't work well so he can't keep up with the other lambs. His friend Abigail the Cow always tells him, "Don't be sad, little Joshua. God has a special place for those who feel left out." When all of the other lambs travel to another pasture, Joshua is made to stay behind and go to a stable since he can't keep up. In the middle of the night, he is awakened by the cries of a little baby. The baby is cold and his parents have no blankets, so Joshua lays next to the baby to keep him warm. The baby, we find out, is Baby Jesus. Here's a passage: "Joshua looked down at the baby. Somehow he knew this was a special child, and this was a special moment. He also understood why he was born with a crippled leg. Had he been like the other sheep, he would have been in the valley. But since he was different, he was in the stable, among the first to welcome Jesus into the world."
I think it's a wonderful book for our boys and their brothers and sisters!