Kyle

Let's see if you send it back...?

>>>

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

>>>a kid from my class 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, 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.

>>>

>>>You now have two choices, you can:

>>>1) Pass this on to your friends or

>>>2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

>>>

>>>As you can see, I took choice number 1. "Friends are

>>>angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have

>>>trouble remembering how to fly."