Friend

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 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 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, "Damn 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 his 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 its
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.