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a friend's impact
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, "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 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.
sho deep...makes me happy and sad at the same time :huh:
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09-07-2002 12:57 AM
