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, "Darn 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. 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.
Each day is a gift from God! Don't forget to say, "Thank you!"
