the
power of friendship
the
power of friendship is found in the simplest of actions, and in
the unknown actions we take as people. the following story
was emailed to me, and I just had to pass it on - it is power in
words.
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.
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