You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,

- ]+ D) y( J2 l8 `& B7 \8 d0 l' XI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

His name was Kyle.
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$ b' d3 ~7 b+ P: ]. A& l/ y% wIt looked like he was carrying all of his
1 m- A4 u+ E4 A" j0 hBooks.

I thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?

He must really be a nerd."
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I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.

2 u  U/ N! G. g; K1 GAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
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They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

% x6 U: ]" m. t' }+ s/ P# ~His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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7 s* N& ~9 o" V0 I- ^( S4 M' C$ aMy 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.
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5 ?6 ~) ^7 N7 Q1 y9 rAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
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They really should get lives.

" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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% [$ ^) t3 E" O: ^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.

# Z% J, }  n& i  c' I0 PAs it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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" v  o+ D2 B( k( y" f* ^He said he had gone to private school before now.

I would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.

1 j; f1 b" i9 D6 p; N9 i) e. |2 yI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with 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.

( H- b6 P# F$ f! c: VMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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When we were seniors, we began to think
About college.

Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
, p2 U; x% S) y- Z2 \7 @; N: E/ VWas going to Duke.
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/ k; G7 |0 L9 N0 II knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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0 j! I( N) w( z% V2 B" O& kHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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8 `4 i9 ?" R# c! m3 {Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
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* Q, p! y2 b) ^I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

' K, }9 c' u6 v+ kHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.

2 C9 y  v& m& @& _. J1 AI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

Graduation day, I saw Kyle.

He looked great.

$ n! @% Q0 n! |8 ?3 V( s* o2 XHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

5 f4 e) U3 ~( s# |He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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6 \. t  ~' W1 bHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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6 e1 V& U6 ?* ^6 q: NBoy, sometimes I was jealous.

' `. P6 s- `2 cToday was one of those days.

4 q. _+ |  W/ L2 J+ e6 AI could see that he was nervous about his speech.

" E9 \9 E5 n9 Z3 `So, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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8 Z6 t* W( X) i: S# i" IHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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- q% d/ t6 R, ~"Thanks," he said.
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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.
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( L4 J% n7 W% c3 Q1 WYour 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."

7 |% L5 k" Y) m/ G4 a9 ?, H8 Q4 HI 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.

# k; y9 v6 |, r: S4 AHe 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.
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He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

- y% B: L$ l& v, M; f, V: }"Thankfully, I was saved.

% ?% K: ~7 I5 S+ I% YMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.

8 ?8 t- f. K" b: B5 BI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

6 y" K3 u' v8 O' N" w0 A: zNever underestimate the power of your actions.

With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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4 i1 {- T: p2 g; pFor better or for worse.
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$ k' c* Q6 N+ NGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.
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Look for God in others.
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- s# E7 [3 [8 ]You now have two choices, you can:
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$ i/ a/ Y/ i/ g$ w" l4 R6 l1) Pass this on to your friends or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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( }( o7 m0 E% J- t& k* o& _; RAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
/ V# L& ]2 X4 G- C" J. R( U"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

There is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

6 t' N6 G0 Y3 }$ R. X( P4 m2 DIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.

: `/ n$ i6 L5 u- _Tomorrow is mystery.

Today is a gift.