Can I call you friend?
To all
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 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!" 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.