You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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& I" s: p+ C- o3 x6 NI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.

9 K1 Z# @/ Q' FIt looked like he was carrying all of his
; l  m, j% f5 m3 Z$ KBooks.
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: H  s% G' L# KI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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7 y" T# E* k0 M1 S' L# E1 oHe 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.

3 H, G( O: m: GAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

9 `! U  N) `# O2 z; O% Q1 bThey 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
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0 _1 F+ L* x  A: RMy 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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2 l# E7 B2 V, L. ]* `' AAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.
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3 }7 _& H! f$ L" g& ]2 L& }" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face.
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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3 Q. c# q! g4 W/ n' ~8 eI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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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.
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) O) M3 m! k$ F$ |I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.

& X+ W* C5 }3 P3 e5 f( qWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

/ V/ ~  ~9 @* s7 S+ d) yI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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He said yes.
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& w! q6 h2 T/ _0 g: n0 `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.

1 e  j' A, l5 J9 R1 p5 |3 GMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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8 h  p2 j  g. L6 Z3 c5 e$ EI stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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5 ~3 I8 k. m6 g- k: y- d* b. r) [" 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
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6 O1 c, v! s7 O9 aKyle decided on Georgetown, and I
3 Z5 R( ?. U6 H) x" p1 u: FWas going to Duke.
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$ W2 j/ X# ~, b2 B5 }" SI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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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.
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2 {! i5 N8 j9 m) LI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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. P; m( u' u- O. A( {9 @Graduation day, I saw Kyle.

# {: C6 o9 w3 u5 VHe looked great.
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He 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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" i8 |& Q2 _, z* T) B$ PHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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2 U, Q* x- _2 \" VBoy, sometimes I was jealous.

  x3 g; T/ E/ T# LToday was one of those days.
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; y" n& X( G% m% bI 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!"

: p4 |; I+ g& y; v( K, fHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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0 M, B/ Z0 ?9 P! i( m+ t, X"Thanks," he said.

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.

! L3 I' M8 e$ R0 w; qYour parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
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I am here to tell all of you that being a
9 g& W% i1 k. i$ n1 V# nFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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2 q. J- d0 S7 Q3 l* BI 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.

6 e6 u; d" y0 B# a5 cHe had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

/ `/ z5 y$ y* wHe 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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( Z$ T1 S$ X: dHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved.
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4 O5 I  O5 k2 UMy 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.

5 ~& g6 C, P! z% L. ?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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; k- Q" ?5 R' D) \% i( [5 b8 ?With one small gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for worse.
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4 P* v/ T6 H+ `+ ]God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

! P" o3 `3 S! u5 o/ E0 Q0 l: Q8 uLook 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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% O8 t  B& v7 ]) n6 J" m$ h) h2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

* I" O4 \3 R. m* `6 JAs 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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Tomorrow is mystery.
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! C9 t/ |4 @8 c) |Today is a gift.
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It'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.

1 {+ L! h. V( k. bTomorrow is mystery.

% y, Q+ k7 W6 M1 w) a, r* BToday is a gift.