One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a boy from my class was walking home from school. His name
was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his
books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd." I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my
friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms
and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from
him. He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes. My heart went out to him. So, I jogged over to him and
as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those
guys are jerks. They really should get lives." He looked at me and said, "Thanks!"
There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude. I helped him pick up his
books, and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him
before. He said he had gone to private school. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
We talked all the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to
play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes. We hung all weekend and the more I got to know Kyle,
the more I liked him, and my friends thought the same of him.
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are
gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!" He just laughed and handed me half the
books.
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college.
Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would
never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for
graduation. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak. Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great.
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in
glasses.
I could see that he was nervous about his speech. So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be
great!" He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make
it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I
am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a
story."
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over
the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his Mom wouldn't have to do it later and was carrying
his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from
doing the unspeakable. "I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his
weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment
did I realize it's depth.
Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture you can change a person's life, for better or
for worse.
God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
Live in peace with each other, encourage the timid, help the weak. 1 Thessalonians 5:15 (The Bible)
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