You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,

9 k2 [) {& C& M) DI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
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9 n# [4 _* s8 G! Q# h" Q4 KHis name was Kyle.
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! A7 p  d1 {# V/ QIt looked like he was carrying all of his
Books.

' u$ i; Z$ u. C% S  p3 j1 z6 pI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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* o# L: A6 z1 H% n7 P# GHe 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.
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As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

- x, \5 k9 O! e  p3 rThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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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.
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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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- X) h7 c( z5 EThey 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.

; r5 i, v4 t0 JI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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+ D1 v- ~. \3 r- C; C. XAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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$ o/ r  D1 ^# c& D, o$ iHe said he had gone to private school before now.
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$ m$ \2 g: t; H$ ZI would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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, Z3 k& o$ ~% t+ Q. t* u( ?  k; TWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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6 |. v7 N; \3 |. C, d( w/ pHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

; N- E) Y- R! [. J" F9 bI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

He said yes.
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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.
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. V( v7 m' }5 P, |5 ]: d% A  u5 bMonday 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.
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" G5 m$ o# e9 h7 k+ i2 L% I# m1 |, AOver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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4 l& D2 l$ k9 G" k) ?1 ZWhen we were seniors, we began to think
& @) j* Q( U) i4 N- NAbout college.
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5 V3 Q$ D7 i; j, c3 p( g' DKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
Was going to Duke.

1 W$ J9 x' |1 V  f/ `5 U5 zI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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  K& a3 x; w; p+ a3 o. tHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

" s5 M9 e9 U  B) @2 P. nKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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/ t. O% M4 K- V, P- [) T  `I teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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& h: K, n' ]9 u- N1 j4 FHe 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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) S4 x4 b2 F# M0 }8 BGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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He looked great.
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

7 {6 l. k7 F9 X% NHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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Boy, sometimes I was jealous.
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Today was one of those days.

- A5 j( ]9 M1 d* e1 a" jI 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!"
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7 n  c1 l: n9 g" d# CHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

( N' `% r& ~+ Y  [9 d# a7 s" s"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.

4 ?5 u4 Z: b9 F* tYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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+ x5 x4 a! Q' l& dI am here to tell all of you that being a
" Y  s- B0 q9 _% T) y& y7 P" FFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story."

/ S5 m, Y( K& I, }4 a  O" EI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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: A8 x1 T3 J/ l6 \He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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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.
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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5 R* |8 v8 p0 h' s2 i$ M  _"Thankfully, I was saved.
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My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

( }- Z7 E+ j! E2 K" t3 N$ p5 }* kI heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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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.
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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.
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Look for God in others.

You now have two choices, you can:
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1) Pass this on to your friends or
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* [1 U1 b  P9 D* p3 P2 g& t4 s2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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As you can see, I took choice number 1.
8 x4 |( N7 z  K, @  {0 j"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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Tomorrow is mystery.
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' l9 i# I* X) F2 t8 m9 o4 Q4 tToday is a gift.
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2 [: K0 B; Z! w5 C0 YIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

3 v$ c7 B% M" J1 M% AIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.