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 friend 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 out 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, 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.
