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Friendship
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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 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. 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 tus all about his weakest moment. I saw his Mom and
dad looking at me and through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told
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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