 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
# F6 ~& D! e& Z) \+ e
9 J# P/ G: M0 t4 d: w- t( r; JI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.; U+ e* v( p* @0 x' w
0 F! Y% e5 j8 @# t0 AHis name was Kyle.
7 |# J' e/ j) E" ]4 V
' i9 B- e4 a+ L; A& rIt looked like he was carrying all of his! g9 M- i' h; ]
Books.
: ?+ b$ h& d6 P3 F+ i+ _2 z. g+ W
2 [9 ?3 Q8 \$ \6 H- ]I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
! a8 Q# S7 ^: i& x& Q9 z6 u
6 d9 c8 X8 i4 G/ EHe must really be a nerd."# |9 `) N6 [4 x" w$ ]6 p1 d
$ S2 m2 g; n7 w0 Y; s' ~+ BI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.9 J [+ n+ g1 \; T& f# T, b
* b- b0 U0 I+ Y8 @; wAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
" {6 P/ D" `5 V6 ?/ B
" A* b7 g: {- ZThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
7 G; H) C/ P7 f- k$ w: T
% N+ n2 a0 v3 M; ?$ BHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.: W) d" m( g3 K: |$ I: y( M) Z, T
; K1 n3 c5 t8 t. E+ w3 n/ [7 ]
He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes) {. u3 B: c! R7 [$ n& t5 I: o
/ j& X0 K7 p4 Z- F A
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 i) v$ H; h2 Y6 T0 ^! m: s
8 V' H" z7 y5 y& r" HAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
: Q6 ]0 w' N; Y! F
- [8 Q7 { c$ T. S: MThey really should get lives.3 X, p. Q* @# N
/ T* \/ A5 Q& L% C% L* j
" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
* W/ `; u' S0 @% W% o2 z; J: `) S. Z
There was a big smile on his face.
6 A7 N" {# C! M1 d/ f" x1 q# [5 ^; d; G; z
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
$ f/ v, X1 \! p6 Q
2 i7 Z# [* L& K+ Z! yI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.% {# k2 a9 h+ J" p6 Q, O1 h
, q3 k5 `# L) d4 l' jAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.9 w: _: I: [( i. ^2 S$ |# \
2 G# r$ j' b6 V3 S& HHe said he had gone to private school before now.) ?4 b% [3 V- Y; Q9 D e* K9 f
7 ~" ~0 ?! s5 U" i& s" m( @
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
& S# V& {7 c+ K6 G
7 M; r. u9 l* ^5 y0 z5 ]3 _$ QWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
2 [+ H& B+ P6 L* Y" e1 E- S9 l! t4 M! J( E, g$ g
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.0 p# t5 S5 T% P: r( |" S: Y
" A! G) B1 J0 M' [8 F. U' l
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.4 C) }8 r9 o0 S, O9 a
; _& M# ] L" E9 E% X6 {
He said yes.
9 D1 h8 N$ Q) g2 @) T
0 @: o' U6 B% ^/ ~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.( b# H0 m2 b" C7 { |8 c! u
1 R8 G0 J' T( t, l/ mMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.2 Z5 ]1 N8 ]2 [/ L; ~
* e+ Y" L6 A$ ]. ~& \( Q |
I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
: ]: |" ]4 p8 p% {$ h' A
$ D+ q t7 w0 h8 o) z" He just laughed and handed me half the books.! T% { O! O* d- J7 F( ^
6 J0 h9 j0 l/ `# u+ t: a) W" ^
Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
1 q. v9 A4 D$ e& M7 Z
" i$ D4 ?8 R# {" x& p RWhen we were seniors, we began to think, N8 o& O3 F T1 [2 T5 D
About college.
& x7 u* o/ ?6 j I( B1 E# L6 z+ Z4 a8 w. X k' m y- W* A4 q9 C
Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
0 U5 ]" ?' P7 O# Y5 U) _Was going to Duke.
' D; v1 p9 Y$ v; ?: u3 w$ ?6 t6 i& d5 q. }6 K6 y& R/ ] w
I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.) M T; Z/ P/ I7 J- ~
# S9 W( u8 }9 E" x6 g0 e3 X) GHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.1 ~0 r' h8 I( m t$ n- }& F
- G$ _$ E$ w5 oKyle was valedictorian of our class./ T1 W5 z" e, A2 e* n* q
! l0 z* e5 k' N E: N! p
I teased him all the time about being a nerd.7 q, T; ]( L5 P N D% }
+ a% g4 P. C7 I4 e1 F( p& EHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.( q! Z* q% s- h% D* {. w3 Y
% r* l }7 |8 w) s5 p9 @/ uI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak+ l% W1 T) M' m L' e3 E6 h
7 e* J; e" \+ R. i" n Y! fGraduation day, I saw Kyle.4 j) h+ n* T7 V
/ t- m5 V. w. `7 q0 MHe looked great.
/ b" T2 z! m7 _5 `- C) U3 J0 Q1 [4 F. `: {. @7 d1 T! B
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
4 f! D& C- c5 A1 ]' r
& O. L% {9 S6 L2 x$ p' b' jHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.) X( q. V6 A' ]4 h
5 J' G# P0 _& [) F" u1 d; S$ S
He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.5 C1 g8 h! V( }7 p6 _( I$ [- W! j
5 u# ^% _: k: D5 x7 n9 m' [Boy, sometimes I was jealous.* B3 t Z g! L4 [ r4 W, i" @
& w: }( N6 q- c' J0 E6 I
Today was one of those days.- O- i& H% h: R7 V% m8 S L" Z$ O
+ g& l; l" N' N( R5 {" q# Q
I could see that he was nervous about his speech.) P4 d5 m; F6 d1 Z1 _: W1 @* k
# B' F9 i6 d& ~4 M+ f
So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"* U$ {: S3 t2 V3 n ?" {. Y" x
# ]* M3 p. M4 m+ O1 o# ~& q& J
He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.6 I/ `/ a2 F( @4 F
7 U6 i+ Z8 O. |
"Thanks," he said.3 X0 J9 H. [! M
* G; n9 [) q! W: |As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began& j: _# _, _0 a2 `/ H j3 M8 n$ w
9 e2 T9 t- c" C4 B3 Y$ ~6 X, e% l; a"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.+ s/ b d, ]& f3 F: [
4 e0 u1 w7 D/ b0 ?2 S
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
" e' |/ R6 F; m _$ B
6 \/ g D1 B( l* NI am here to tell all of you that being a
) k+ w1 o. w+ ]) n: A" i. |Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.2 K) o% x# h) n! }2 k j, P
$ ]7 n5 P& I8 M! o ]3 r. w
I am going to tell you a story."
; Z! Y! J3 F& n" L; [2 H) ~1 m( C$ U) y5 N
I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
8 i: @% t3 ^% \4 ]3 C1 p% a v7 u e" [7 z% A4 k
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
! f# ^) K; h" ?4 y8 `4 ?7 d
+ m. n7 k7 E3 C3 s- _ UHe 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.
6 c: U! w: `9 |
7 ]/ |3 b, F" u+ X3 t# k+ oHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile." S# Q( {7 `9 y8 G: I' T! y3 [
& T/ [$ W# w) {0 p Z. j"Thankfully, I was saved.6 _# r( _; o, w l+ d4 C/ L
6 ?4 ]/ o u9 _; a3 ^' c! |
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
- r+ E; L& J% S, J0 l \) U) W, n7 z, \5 L. e; o( m$ ?! {- I% Z
I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.8 \- a* y1 U" A1 Z! ?$ M6 Z
% o, O* z; W4 m7 G: s
I saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
* c6 }8 j, {; s z* E+ }8 ~
- G% ~0 A' m* N% ]( P2 Y; fNot until that moment did I realize it's depth.
: O( f- m* q d) {+ H. v
( t6 H: J5 z2 \& I& u- U! \$ Y$ E5 ?Never underestimate the power of your actions.
( O3 X0 D) i; C: `" r# }9 |! q# K* G$ U- k9 u
With one small gesture you can change a person's life.5 v4 @% I: S4 I8 | Q
' h0 K0 T1 d2 L" e
For better or for worse.
: R! x' v' _, m4 K+ q; n! o8 d9 Y- X8 \6 t/ J% l# ~/ |' _
God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
" @( U- \ v# X, e: D# `3 R
1 F. x" K/ H3 c9 p6 BLook for God in others.
8 C5 D7 u. P: ~% S/ W$ {9 W1 H7 a* c" p8 N& q& D1 T
You now have two choices, you can:
9 @+ a: p+ J2 |0 W9 [! k3 n+ Q/ w* i& t4 m2 w
1) Pass this on to your friends or" _% Z9 Y" v6 ~3 t3 i. c
/ Z3 F* ~, }! R, ]3 U! {- V2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart. N& ], F. N/ T0 x& j% B) r
s }. t% b- i4 uAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
" v- C% b$ ^& [: j. O0 K1 |1 q. Y"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."4 K/ D+ |1 z$ Y P. t; [
7 u. k j! r) p( S, X) ]
There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
% h. O' J& n) H9 E: ^& s" d' C
2 Q6 c. u* l: n, G7 LTomorrow is mystery.) [0 k! u* g5 \ _" o/ C$ k1 k
) [5 K$ j7 J3 v& ZToday is a gift.
3 z1 s' S1 m9 @% I' M; m5 Z1 l/ L1 @" t2 u$ x, D9 a3 T
It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
7 P$ Q! [8 @5 H7 M1 R3 a4 l7 A+ R" t8 }2 D& `0 p
If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
|