~~ TRUE FRIENDS ~~
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I
saw a kid 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, "Hey 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 before now.
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, "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, 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. He had more dates than me and
all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was
jealous. Today was one of those days. 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.
Look for God in others. Each day is a gift from
God! Don't forget to say, "Thank you!"
~~ Author Unknown
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