 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
. `! c0 h$ }: R7 ^% i" j9 I( J$ }9 V: f+ Q6 }/ ~
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
- T% d; z9 `, Z9 s% O6 O
) K# k! S7 X: m* i: R& l8 HHis name was Kyle.
. t& V }. ?+ w3 U* b* {# ?% [! I* i9 F6 T$ ^
It looked like he was carrying all of his
( Q1 S* G! I V# t3 w) U# R7 EBooks.
/ B& Q" g* l3 y# x( Y0 i B
; l+ u7 g- O. |8 II thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
3 ~7 k* T- {# D# P" b; i
5 K' H' p9 F/ V- {0 O1 q [9 PHe must really be a nerd."5 [3 W9 ~: V% c2 P6 D0 q7 \
, u8 G4 A! h& |& D) HI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.: _0 V! m& J# s$ r2 X; T- W
+ [, n0 H% k+ N
As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
8 q) i( i+ q4 @( x) C) Y- q7 ~7 N4 I# [6 p1 G4 C: l
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
5 S& j. l" P: _0 ~
4 Q9 d! g/ R8 v9 [His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
# {- Y9 ^% z. Y4 v/ i* \1 r M7 G% a) T
2 Y( O& y, N/ ^# P8 Q$ f, GHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes* V5 v$ E$ B8 m& q8 r v* r
9 D }( A; J" H5 p4 ?5 p: t
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.
& ^" \9 A2 |6 Z1 i/ S% n. b
1 O) F; S: o1 T0 DAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
9 S( j. C U; c) P9 I/ V" Y) }7 \( O7 _
They really should get lives.+ P+ `9 C) w6 a/ T) w" u& a0 J
- P2 L1 D5 R6 Z: G" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
E* \; A! |+ w9 O
0 i( |) M X1 x- g- o sThere was a big smile on his face.& X. I3 r5 v% K! J# D
( r, j3 W" M8 [: I2 fIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude." O# P _: ?+ m* Y8 Q- g D5 S
W( v! l. F$ Q' V O5 UI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived., t. a% t+ Q1 x: e$ F
- ~' p( N+ ], A, E
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
# K# n- h- I0 A: u! D/ j( K& V7 X ^% S. o |1 e) o2 ^
He said he had gone to private school before now.4 b# D1 U) s4 ]- J6 I6 v, a
8 S4 ~8 H0 V# r" H5 iI would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
8 }. M1 T6 S( f3 ]% o& a! `7 G
+ k# M. `5 U7 B: w: i- ZWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
. k9 k2 Y' x [1 r+ a/ {. w+ N- [9 p# y/ |/ y% @5 M
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
' S& d" ?: Y1 i
+ v9 R6 B" w" c& G, H: s! bI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
: A7 Y6 t+ l Q5 _) n
! G+ L7 y# F+ M+ l8 C) W( SHe said yes.
) t' F' f+ k) v+ g" I1 W# W: o
6 g. R% J. n( x: M- r1 s" sWe 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." W- x$ o1 p2 a2 `
4 b7 F& @" @1 L, ^1 m; lMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.+ M$ |3 n- W; ?( b/ ~! h* Y1 e( R
+ T6 J: _5 i( S+ ~3 T
I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!$ x2 u7 {2 {' s4 B+ h0 N- w7 G% Z
H/ b9 r, R' ~* h: ?+ C" He just laughed and handed me half the books.5 r3 w; j+ ?* A; f
v# Q- b/ P$ t2 @" t
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.# o+ N. x* V n, c2 F8 I
* X+ c1 g: F2 g' n: W' W- V
When we were seniors, we began to think a( L* \$ Z) L+ @( R* {
About college. | C' B' i0 e/ ?: z( N
' V s1 J5 J; c4 f* D$ P
Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I5 c6 f4 }+ ~6 V% x
Was going to Duke., ~* x) p) E1 V. y
1 L D& h3 ] Y) Q& xI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
( G8 B" o9 q- z' \3 R. [3 J0 ~# z7 a6 K3 ~2 f
He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
; s) i6 {1 v! Z+ T: j" a
; Y6 r6 O( y) g. p1 WKyle was valedictorian of our class.
& E- j) Z! z8 H! U1 D. w' P- x( D8 h
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.# S1 k5 t$ e S4 \2 _, X; g3 [2 ?
# b* o: e0 r) F' {7 [He had to prepare a speech for graduation.8 A9 d5 T7 f: o7 K, _: u% G& W
; v$ ~# n9 s3 N1 a; y0 R' C: v7 H8 rI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
9 ^2 n8 s: R' m% y1 X
( D/ Y J6 O0 A9 Q8 n" vGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
5 S# X3 i1 _3 g+ M0 ^1 l. B, t; I1 V4 O3 S
He looked great." S: I; |, d7 w6 o& g" s( s
. {3 C l$ x9 \8 K1 j7 c
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.# V2 z h0 K% S: J
6 b9 L/ p, y6 P
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.! F5 I$ o1 p# |5 ?) }
5 X+ Q+ |! E8 g' G, H( t
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him./ W+ x% n+ ~9 Q
7 Z. |0 x# p% Y/ `# @3 r" f/ u7 B+ e, |
Boy, sometimes I was jealous.) E( T2 J6 r( ]) f# o. e
, N$ q: b3 e5 S) w# P
Today was one of those days.
: W! M8 c9 t3 k% V$ e2 ^
7 e' }8 V; ~$ x2 z$ I4 ^; aI could see that he was nervous about his speech.
. Y' z$ B: S9 U' {( P! }) D! I' n# F" v9 l% F7 ~/ Z
So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
5 {. U# ]8 U) I" x
" x- J2 \9 c) g/ j4 J* ^! |He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.5 G9 U9 D2 y7 }/ @( ]5 W
4 |; p0 e( R$ ^" I5 B3 G
"Thanks," he said.. Z4 X- I- r7 Z
/ s. Y) v7 }& K3 I- V) I& qAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began$ T3 j3 L% h5 ^9 m0 B) h9 Q
1 s! }% v( P( z"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
: K( }4 E% `, O, L _* u, G; @& V
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...( m- E( Z- _) k
?; L( q( g% FI am here to tell all of you that being a, }) D- o* w3 L9 X j+ K
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
" @2 x7 `; ]5 J0 \2 _% Q4 |% X8 P7 p
I am going to tell you a story."
# g" c; e9 m4 u& C! A/ C9 z
7 f: O8 a9 k) n4 wI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
7 I( A y/ V: W4 O) _' H
# Y$ ~6 R3 o1 D' PHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
8 z9 O% Y; N* x5 L& Z0 O7 F) D3 N* a8 k
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.
( o7 X0 \2 k* m7 T$ L; A F" @# t6 d! b D
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.) u: H# e, v+ A
5 E2 j: h- ]# I" L$ @"Thankfully, I was saved.
8 X% t+ N1 h; i4 [9 ]. G/ ^; m* u N- Q, P) o
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."# E/ L1 f; V9 H+ ~3 B2 z1 T
+ C4 Y8 r4 y4 @2 I, k, j6 V7 a
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.8 U9 b$ n8 F9 z9 P0 K: l: T
! X' s9 r. P/ q! @0 B3 F& J# ^
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.3 U9 e! x9 `1 D; d6 v* K9 l
2 l2 \5 [2 @, ~% _: b) s
Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.: w& |1 T4 I H j% h
5 v/ J; q- x$ a5 G8 ^, n0 x1 S
Never underestimate the power of your actions.
6 }) C$ X6 s; |( T) ^& I) _3 Z6 c- Q' M, Q# W
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.8 `8 i7 B1 v6 C- u1 v
! @% f3 w6 [+ a9 P+ z r# e
For better or for worse.# f; G; F. f) Y) |1 y, U
, \$ Z9 A* q3 M/ X) HGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
2 ?( K/ E" p1 P7 {6 x' G4 \9 [* m8 O# O: l j
Look for God in others.4 H8 G# \2 n& O: w! }
. e! a! X' m( o+ U4 W+ |6 L" f: |
You now have two choices, you can:
$ x5 ~/ m# h! u0 t, N: d7 S* H$ I0 J) Z$ P" |" ]
1) Pass this on to your friends or
! _1 z' N/ m$ ?& x# P. z+ e: A) W/ l8 C: H$ V* S- U% x
2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.3 r. @/ Y2 Q( C: J* @
3 N3 z/ I% T/ Y! z( Q5 fAs you can see, I took choice number 1.$ ` H6 ~5 m7 P
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."9 g* u5 L# {1 R
' f. a! @! ], P5 x. x: m( `
There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
4 P' Z( Q) t# y! @9 y
' P6 u3 R X. n! A+ cTomorrow is mystery.9 e% Q/ X1 K, \" w g5 L4 P
! F7 {. D o1 m0 L, K
Today is a gift.
. W: H) f9 |* k4 s/ ]' n
8 m- D! X, k5 GIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.% L9 S7 e: B8 V' `$ O$ y
, {4 Z& w* P; Y
If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
|