You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
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! R$ [  P" O' O- \His name was Kyle.
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1 a1 B  P+ o7 n$ X) X+ }) q: KIt looked like he was carrying all of his
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I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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2 ?2 Z- u! {4 X0 }9 [He must really be a nerd."
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I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

# h+ m. {  u; }* s  o$ i2 l. QAs 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.

; }, x0 p% ], U# t6 ]" L  ^, w$ rHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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1 [* m% H; M1 H/ b- ?  s, p5 nHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes

# [) Q( g9 g6 ~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.
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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.

* @, ?1 C# b& K2 X: NThey really should get lives.

6 n% ?/ w: G- N* z8 s( O$ y. K& `" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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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.
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6 \6 w9 R, X% B" k! h4 O* xAs 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.
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0 `1 |: g6 w/ S: EWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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' {* W- \, ~0 P, r  B, \% rHe said yes.

! S. `4 m( G7 g9 g9 Y$ iWe 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.

  x& K! x( S( E5 c% J6 _Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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$ K7 u$ ^* k) [4 mI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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1 l+ Z9 p7 `# P* I" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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0 t$ X  ]6 i8 P5 R) S" U; uWhen we were seniors, we began to think
About college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
! `+ e* J; X6 X/ W, F# WWas going to Duke.

( t! y3 ^+ j, dI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.

2 o  c4 k& N2 `He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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3 P6 y$ Y6 X' x+ f4 \+ J0 jKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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3 e6 d5 L! L, F+ M% k" wI teased him all the time about being a nerd.

* _5 l+ {4 [, S! b1 q2 {4 G' iHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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' ~$ y, D5 D( uGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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He looked great.
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! i1 V( D  T9 U2 y' ?: @. Y7 LHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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8 j& P& Y6 b- M* Q: yHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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& B' f7 Z5 H* h7 ]6 i& ]5 QBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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) o1 A# A" {) C1 W( t( w6 U2 n' V* fToday was one of those days.
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" y3 |* ~( l0 p3 s( P9 SI could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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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.
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7 j6 Y+ b3 j! c+ D' z7 j+ d"Thanks," he said.
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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4 M% Q4 x# x  C( C: xI am here to tell all of you that being a
# g2 T1 u6 o8 X; }( yFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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* L0 R% _% s$ {- A( W6 ZI am going to tell you a story."
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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.
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3 a- W0 K& I' qHe 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.

% ]8 ~( `5 @! S4 [8 I5 U0 KHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved.
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& I; h2 C5 g, m) \1 v1 d/ ?+ CMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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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.
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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For better or for worse.
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# H3 F: H( ^0 h( YGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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Look for God in others.
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8 @; {$ O' ?+ B% b% W: }( qYou now have two choices, you can:
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1) Pass this on to your friends or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

8 e! j) b4 R5 _. R  q: E0 T: vAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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- ~8 O$ c' W' I/ N& YTomorrow is mystery.
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$ b& J: }* F" d% v7 Y3 f; D1 iToday is a gift.
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) w- s. S0 O# F  R0 i! iIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.

7 f% O( P# \' Z( C, w( _Today is a gift.