"Thanks for Being My Friend"
(Unknown Author)
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 I 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 some of his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I
asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends. He said yes.
We hung 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, "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, we 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 I had 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.
"Be devoted to one another in
brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." (Romans 12:10 NIV)
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"Please, dear Lord, don't let
someone pay,
For the mistakes that I might make this
day."
"Love covers a multitude of
sins."
1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)
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Thank you!
