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, 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 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,
"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, 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 its depth.
 
    Never underestimate the power of your actions. With
one small gesture you can change a person's life. For
better or for worse.  You never know when that
opportunity will present itself.  Be vigilant,
  God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one
another in some way.

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