At a council assembled in heaven,  
Where presided the great Magistrate,  
Came the spirits in anticipation  
To make plans for their second estate.  
Each was given his own special mission,  
And a talent to use and display;  
And with joy each received his assignment  
With instructions to keep faith and pray.  

Now one spirit transcended the others,  
So outstanding in talents and grace;  
So majestic in stature and bearing,  
With a light in his angelic face.  
And the Magistrate turned to address him:  
“Lo, your mission is unlike the rest’  
They are going to earth to be tested,  
But my son, you are going to test.”  

You will sift out the hearts of my people;  
You will test them for true charity;  
What is done to the least of my children,  
Is the measure they meet out to me.  
You will challenge the faith of your loved ones  
And the stranger you meet on life’s way;  
You will undergo great tribulation,  
And your spirit will feel deep dismay.  

“When your sojourn on Earth is completed  
And your message imparted to men.  
Then as humble and pure as you left me,  
You’ll return to my presence again.”  
For a moment the spirit was troubled,  
Err the conflict within he had won.  
Then he spoke: “I am willing dear Master,  
For thy will and not mine shall be done.  

Now the time had arrived for departure,  
And the spirits were ready to go;  
But one paused at the throne of the Father  
And spoke in a voice sweet and low:  
“Hold my hand so I won’t be afraid, Lord,  
I am eager to go down to Earth,”  
So with God’s hand in his he departed  
And entered the channels of birth.  

On a bright golden day in October,  
All our family was radiant with joy,  
For Heaven had sent a choice spirit  
In the form of a dear baby boy.  
How excited I was on that morning,  
As I ran to my schoolmate and cried:  
“Oh, guess what?  I’ve a new baby brother  
And my small heart was bursting with pride.  

Now his hair was the color of autumn,  
He had brown eyes and rose-petal skin;  
Through those eyes we were often permitted  
A quick glimpse of the angel within  
Thus, joy lingered a while in our cottage,  
And my Father would whistle a tune,  
My Mother would scour and polish,  
And would smile at her baby and croon.  

Happiness was short-lived in our household,  
For grave sorrow stole in at the door,  
And my father’s gay whistling faltered,  
And my mother’s sweet voice sang no more.  
Our baby was entering boyhood,  
And his strong body grew as it should  
But the mind did not function correctly,  
And we soon knew that it never would.  

For the rest of his life he was destined  
To remain a perpetual child,  
He would laugh, and the cry like a baby,  
With emotions subdued, and then wild.  
My dear parent’s dreams were now shattered  
Their fond hopes reverted to grief;  
They discarded their plans for his future  
And Their heartache could find no relief.  

But as time passed, we learned to accept it  
We would all laugh together and play;  
And my brother was petted and pampered  
And usually given his way.  
And his physical growth still continued All according to natural plan  
And his body received strength and passion  
While developing into a man.  

And society must have it’s way now,  
So our darling was taken away;  
He was placed in a state institution  
Where the rest of his life he must stay.  
Then I prayed day and night for my brother,  
And in mercy God answered my prayer.  
For one evening I knelt at my bedside  
And received inspiration while there.  

My dear brother and those who live with him  
Are fulfilling a mission sublime,  
And they all will return to the Father  
To receive crowns of glory, in time.  
In the meantime they’re not being tested,  
It is we who are taking the test,  
And in serving the least of God’s children  
We truly are serving the best.  

How dare we presume to neglect them,  
And leave them alone to their fate?  
These children should dwell in a place  
To be serve by mankind while they wait.  
We should deem it an honor to know them,  
And to do everything that we can  
To comfort, to love and protect them,  
They should not be forgotten by man.  

Even though there are those who will shun them,  
There are those who will bless them with love,  
And I somehow am sure that our actions  
Are now being recorded above.  
So I no longer fear for my brother,  
For I know, though I don’t understand  
That he’ll travel life’s highway in safety,  
For his God is still holding his hand...