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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 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 some of his books. He turned out to be a
pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play
a little football with my friends and 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,
'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 I had 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
others lives to impact one another in some way.
Look
for God in others.
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