 鲜花( 1)  鸡蛋( 0)
|
One day, when I was a freshman in high school, Y- Z7 P5 A, q" ]
9 q8 J8 O6 Q" b- L$ _4 i
I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.3 p, }( F: w8 g/ Y! A8 V: E) |
( I! A: u( C: Y" w$ G* w
His name was Kyle.
' y; y# Z7 c8 |7 w/ G+ k. ^7 ~) t1 S1 v1 X
It looked like he was carrying all of his
- \' a. b) X& B( V" D @Books.3 K: Q5 j2 u1 l, m ]/ w4 k6 G
' [3 H7 h+ p3 }* N) Z$ o' mI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?' s7 U* ^$ p7 K. {
- u* t/ i+ B) y9 ]( D
He must really be a nerd."
8 n! a8 J' f2 B# S) u5 s% B% D
6 P, Q# v. x' l* v5 G" a0 p8 Q, l4 S3 gI had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
' Z1 ~$ E2 z4 t2 N0 q
/ Y3 A. f+ j# i( N. T- C7 IAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
( d+ Z5 J4 }7 }5 F& X* g* K7 E9 [) c( F( ~" y% T! ]
They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. v- V& D2 z6 a5 N( U- ^8 P
8 h. Y _8 v6 k9 t3 Q
His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him./ U1 }% X- J7 `5 |6 x
3 L8 y3 Q) _; H- t, WHe looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
8 s& r$ h1 y7 V+ ~4 B/ k
4 @, f1 D. s* j4 JMy 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 O) H& l; v3 x* f$ q# V8 O
$ R. @8 q# e* f+ rAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
" l* p! N/ t% |& x' L# b: V. D* v6 ]. t$ B7 Z
They really should get lives.6 h; D6 q) ^" |3 @# }
! p- R- j/ N. {( j# S! y9 e" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!" v6 s" T! s( q" L
2 C0 [* K0 A$ F. s# Q8 H
There was a big smile on his face.
, ^1 D, V1 ~% l1 u5 h b) \; m& z9 c7 M0 S( d0 [# J
It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.$ v7 g! r* A' |
1 Z2 d+ v' W! a) [I helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.! N& t8 ?0 j! g. `+ B
* p- N( e0 H1 a3 D+ LAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.0 I9 Z. }2 ~ Y* ]- t
' O/ T1 C% Q$ L8 Y2 B# v5 gHe said he had gone to private school before now.5 z4 g7 v' F# p* N
: J6 X7 g6 t$ `- l( v
I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
; \ T6 B( ]1 D5 Y( z# p
: Q3 m8 i6 N3 iWe talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.: g$ x2 t" Q1 ]
2 ~3 j3 L/ H0 ]- Z- ?) JHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.- |# E" B& Z# N
: S0 e: I" h- [: `2 b5 V
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.7 C+ d- k3 G% Z* _
5 J7 D- [7 x2 D: V* m, z! l# ~. B
He said yes.
5 _# e, g7 t0 }5 E8 U6 o# K! D( x' h
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.
# a- \; ^- W8 @+ j) N! C/ e+ a! Q5 _8 F( h1 |$ L7 l g2 e
Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
. P) M' P5 o- g& ^- ~& u) X) ~: o( l' r9 g# Q6 p1 {, B
I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!/ S4 x* v! E6 P) G- ^
) h- d f" K: S5 z
" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
" p) l0 x8 t( u9 o! d. B, w9 ] m7 w
( Q, Q+ S% v @. h( m7 ~) COver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. l" T: P: E" D9 {, `: Q$ ? ~% ?
! w& R$ y/ n6 y ^/ E% I
When we were seniors, we began to think; F- ]: e7 g' `. M
About college.1 b9 I8 _, k4 Z5 _) s& S, x5 Q
$ C& Y5 j. ` cKyle decided on Georgetown, and I( H# V( L. W- O( j8 z
Was going to Duke.5 F4 X0 q0 A! d7 w" s
( W' C8 D1 _* F. |; l nI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. Q: x1 |% P/ Q
& d1 h5 b) B+ R) G! Y P- `
He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship." w. o7 {) j- P" P7 v% Y4 K$ f
, @" m. K7 V5 C7 S( p% d2 o& l9 {Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
1 }( K0 G4 ^* r3 V
- d- P; w% `% b' x- H2 sI teased him all the time about being a nerd.. D7 Q) K' o: { v. Z1 v4 q
0 P: B7 ?9 o; L! l/ sHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.: r+ E; j+ x0 ~# U! W: s
, e9 V Y2 M+ \2 jI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak, g! y% ]+ T- Z* J, Y2 K! y2 R
' b/ N% Y) U1 m/ P7 w
Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
% p; j+ o1 f" D& {& X z( h2 q' p! Q0 b
He looked great.
) |5 h9 ^6 C1 Y/ |$ k9 n/ d$ q6 Z
He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.8 ?4 d$ y* D; n# ^( v8 {! b
% O# B; H5 X/ L5 ^3 tHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
8 m9 M+ }- R i/ O' |! [; k
8 A+ A0 S$ ^- [4 ?+ r% g* uHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.- ~ I# x" C5 T
2 e5 {5 u$ Z! F4 d/ Q3 O% E/ DBoy, sometimes I was jealous.) j) f0 ?0 k: r$ k" N; w
( m7 B9 a# u9 Z$ T' O2 J9 ~Today was one of those days.
/ p* E$ a. k1 Q( ^ \8 ]7 ~9 l% V
6 m+ l z) |/ S1 x- x5 zI could see that he was nervous about his speech.0 g4 d8 D9 v* D3 ^* [
8 O J1 i+ z# K. [* R7 R7 bSo, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
5 j1 l# C$ a) Q) x( }, R8 k/ s E
- n3 v1 Q" Z. A% ^& _' mHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
7 s: d* O* y9 l/ r& w
' N( l# J P& B" G7 r"Thanks," he said.2 N( V" ]& S. \, T5 `/ r
' R( j- z7 }. Z5 O w; a* K
As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began7 Q' p1 W* a0 B' }" R, C: g7 S
3 g" ?6 b8 r, G* V3 c/ X: w"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years." F5 h1 u* v/ ?1 M
% x- P$ T% a* e0 A* ?Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...
3 _+ a5 u! X( j: u M2 q! F5 I/ m
0 j+ d! e" B+ c% }: C2 P5 {( WI am here to tell all of you that being a9 ~, `- }, S# X" N9 O
Friend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
# s4 O/ p# w" g1 `: R. J9 l) ?
4 l% @$ ?( \4 Z OI am going to tell you a story."& l/ [: g# T8 r; k" _9 ^# z
2 d- F3 X* P* |% HI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.0 G0 e$ K0 p/ k. E8 `4 A" D
) Y( j" E& H7 c
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.& k3 X: A- B0 U. k7 h4 |9 j4 N
/ p1 V5 z/ x. PHe 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.4 I0 G. M. h7 w1 L
8 |& b1 J f8 |# U5 K8 Z- u
He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile./ p) M( X2 b) r( A9 }% F5 ~
6 A: b; e2 R6 ]( T; t+ [) A"Thankfully, I was saved., J6 u4 T. T4 H/ ]2 b* [6 D
, o8 {- J" y1 |6 ^2 `1 k
My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."9 D S5 D5 I1 Y% m
$ @! W, C( E% G- b- I) ZI heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment." h' J, I. B* f# l6 a5 X
3 l1 R& U- N5 I4 XI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.! q( A, }) U/ A
0 V' j6 y. y( N# j% INot until that moment did I realize it's depth.4 ?# C8 }7 q5 V
9 I9 p4 n0 X9 E" c$ O1 ]* PNever underestimate the power of your actions. K' O6 L) M( t g6 s" D
/ `+ `" S+ C& S+ wWith one small gesture you can change a person's life." Q% u1 r4 I, @
* _3 o) J. B: g& K. i* JFor better or for worse.) C M$ j" P9 q8 s! h% _
+ o& o; y* n; F( t9 {
God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.% S+ N7 @: R- V! }$ c& W
& U/ X m" T8 T
Look for God in others.
0 A2 n- h" E% [0 J# V+ }/ M; r, w( x: n" ^7 T2 x( f1 D
You now have two choices, you can:
, W& e; e( W; T. J& Z/ `- y$ T
! [5 F1 Z- E, x: z, \4 Y. |' L1) Pass this on to your friends or
- `4 J- a: }0 r' B k$ Q' W* y$ \( p N/ I2 h; Z) x
2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
4 e1 S. W Q: p/ U& n& h) T8 o, K! u2 {
As you can see, I took choice number 1.0 Z( X& u2 z4 G* a
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly.". {* J% e8 {3 q% G9 G }6 Q( k3 D
3 y! m5 Y* X8 y/ H! i! J2 jThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.* m8 D, E5 E! k, B
0 _8 p! g# c' P. r5 a. }Tomorrow is mystery.
+ a% t7 ^& H0 j6 m u# Y, d0 U `6 k2 k
Today is a gift.
: O* K) A& n( C* S: W8 P! ^- `+ o. j' i
It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND./ E( F& Y" |0 D2 n4 J( T- @* R6 L
i- _$ |6 {2 d" B6 i2 \- P8 sIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends. |
|