You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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/ \6 Z4 S# h) H3 M4 cI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

0 ~; _4 d' L; o+ {( ^) S0 sHis name was Kyle.

It looked like he was carrying all of his
Books.
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( _0 B: q: y" K+ t- s/ fI thought to myself, "Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday?
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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.

7 p- X( W" A' t1 n+ LThey 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
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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.
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They really should get lives.
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" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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& j# W2 {% e/ Z8 hThere was a big smile on his face.
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It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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, w3 ]4 q  F' X( Y" V# t; BI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.
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As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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$ z* k- D! v0 @4 C$ q, B3 ]' T8 LHe said he had gone to private school before now.
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* F1 \! m  ~  L7 z5 yI 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.

7 H6 j: X# H, z& ]He said yes.
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# W2 ^" F+ d/ T) A) AWe 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, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!
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$ t: z3 h8 }' F9 T) Y- p0 \- @1 P" He just laughed and handed me half the books.
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Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

4 `" m' ], E( R. m4 {. ]& L3 QWhen we were seniors, we began to think
9 y: F! @8 E8 A( tAbout college.

Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
" Y) f3 e' S: l. B, nWas going to Duke.

. ~) B6 G  X3 N3 P1 L3 BI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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. @9 C9 ]2 Y* s+ H& W5 E& |. eHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

  t4 F( I8 m, |( k: PKyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.
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I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

7 H/ I" X/ P7 O/ E0 F" ?Graduation day, I saw Kyle.
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4 J8 b% j3 s' k3 vHe looked great.
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He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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& L/ C6 S: M1 q' F" \He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.
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# e* c+ Z% y- T; \3 dHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

! B6 j, Q/ P4 Z, ^, EBoy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days.
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I could see that he was nervous about his speech.
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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.

( j5 o% t( K* M"Thanks," he said.
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+ V/ E) d( i' c& @/ \% S* aAs 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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, d& Z4 l' f) F9 b: I( A7 }Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...

I am here to tell all of you that being a
0 L! B8 a& X5 u6 _( Z, R5 m4 MFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story."
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I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.

# ~8 v! \: Q8 V8 @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.
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: H' p: L( ^& l' DHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved.

! `/ ?& w2 j: X- {7 v+ s8 i: W  `My 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.

0 U# L8 r" ~/ i# W) OI 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.

& M' F7 y$ M, M& v9 W: \, }: MWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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' d8 e4 q+ e- aFor better or for worse.
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God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

& q! K$ E: g3 GLook for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:
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0 F2 _2 w, @4 y. E5 R" f" g1) Pass this on to your friends or
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2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

: Y- d9 H* z% l# `As you can see, I took choice number 1.
1 C( D6 V+ }) V8 L* `# g5 A"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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$ t9 k( o/ q, G) r& S$ aThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.

; H. _$ j- R; ?4 h4 R2 K+ KToday is a gift.
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" R# b& i( m' f2 QIt's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.
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: ~7 e) g1 {' RToday is a gift.