This was a really awesome story i found online, i
wanted to share it with you guys, :-) –
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I
saw a kid from my class walking home from
school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was
carrying all of his books, and 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 right up to 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.
Then 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 a
life.”
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, “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, 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 and 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.
On 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 its 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.
“Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when
our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.”