One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my
class
was walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was
carrying all of his books. I thought to myself,  "Why would anyone bring
home
all his books on a Friday?  He 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.

     As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.

  They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping
him so
he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw  them land in
the
grass about ten feet from him. 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 saw a tear in his eye. As I

handed him his glasses, I said,  "Those guys are jerks. They 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.  I helped
him
pick up his  books, and asked him where he lived. 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. I
 would have never hung out with a private school kid before. We talked
all
  the way home, and I carried his books. He turned out to be a  pretty
 cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me

 and my friends. He said yes. 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. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge
 stack of books again. I stopped him and said, "Dang boy, you are gonna'
  really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!"
 He just laughed and handed me half the books. Over the next four years,
Kyle
and I became best friends. When we were seniors, began to think
  about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to
  Duke.
  I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would
  never be a problem. 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. I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up
 there and speak.

      Graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of
  those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled
 out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and
  all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one
of
  those days. I 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!"

      He looked at me with one of those looks (the really
 grateful one) and smiled. "Thanks," he said.

      As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began.
  "Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it
  through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings,

  maybe a coach...but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you
   that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I
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. He had planned to kill himself over
the
  weekend.  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. He
looked
  hard at me and gave me a little smile. "Thankfully, I  was saved. My
  friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

       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. Not until
  that moment did I realize it's depth. Never underestimate the power
 of your actions. 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. Look for God in others.

Author Unknown

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