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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 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, "Dang 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.
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"Choose
you this day
whom ye will
serve
but for me
and my
house we will
serve the Lord "
