You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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: }/ W- m/ B/ c, c% J" AI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
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, Z3 n5 G1 }! k/ }- D  nHis name was Kyle.
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' s/ `# W' e& QIt looked like he was carrying all of his
Books.

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

' k" R* f, N* K2 s; PHe 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.
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$ }5 n) |7 l; ^1 R: z" _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.
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He looked up and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes
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: Y9 V8 s+ p2 T3 v2 A" \" ~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.
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As I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.

4 }* p0 O/ i, p( l8 TThey really should get lives.

" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"

There was a big smile on his face.
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7 _7 M$ j, ?# q/ ^$ C# ^/ Z' mIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.
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I 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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He said he had gone to private school before now.

, f9 `; P+ ]/ h) PI would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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6 C8 a+ n6 _& M% k# uWe 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.

7 b( S1 {+ o" Q# P$ |I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

6 y0 G! k  E2 @0 T( b. xHe said yes.
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2 q1 _+ A0 {% |! uWe 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.

9 U( q* K% l% oMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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) B% K7 W, ?3 H4 V4 aI 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.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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9 ~- B. ]7 L8 P, E! uWhen we were seniors, we began to think
( \0 Y/ t. ^/ \2 R. nAbout college.
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Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
, @4 Z- C+ u! H/ c; f/ L+ Z3 tWas going to Duke.
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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.

: o, H" N( |) \9 h5 M1 jKyle was valedictorian of our class.

2 q' u* [) f- u% E$ Z$ yI teased him all the time about being a nerd.
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He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

8 L: S% M8 m6 EI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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4 w4 W& z* o8 ~  K) gGraduation day, I saw Kyle.

7 y8 b; f8 m4 U0 ]* B; m1 bHe looked great.

5 V" V. k1 s% Z* |& |He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.

& U( E' `, a, p& s" HHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

* y3 n7 e8 F- [0 a, X& s+ EHe had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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6 j3 C4 h3 l  R( D; g# iBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
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3 F  w; S4 K! ^- G) U' M) aToday was one of those days.
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8 Y: `& X6 K' rI 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!"
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( U1 h3 ?1 U# g3 l% fHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.

) x7 s* l  M# \5 E6 \7 ^: Q8 }"Thanks," he said.
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As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began

0 S0 _* r! X0 P  i* b/ O; t' H$ L"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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* s. d9 J2 m! R' E: K+ }Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...

3 \/ A3 t6 _: P* m: DI am here to tell all of you that being a
% Q9 o  @3 a0 ^) P* uFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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7 Z9 a  k9 _7 [: S3 A( BI 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.
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% D! z2 h. P6 m2 |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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" E3 Z/ L' k0 ]/ y1 m; xHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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"Thankfully, I was saved.

' }5 h  K; A/ D, U8 t& h& xMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."

- [2 U; i2 G9 z9 J# A& J7 m/ TI 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.
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Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.

) x2 \+ N8 f1 HNever underestimate the power of your actions.
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With one small gesture you can change a person's life.
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: x2 l. \  S7 U! x: h9 Q, yFor better or for worse.

- E( Z1 J. H. }9 A# \3 X3 }- h# [3 {2 WGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

7 D; Y7 H5 X4 J" xLook for God in others.

% m$ r+ n# E4 v* H0 ?" k4 VYou now have two choices, you can:

% ?; V5 T) s5 Q; T) m" |* K1) Pass this on to your friends or

2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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. ]6 ], A' J, x6 h7 S4 \As you can see, I took choice number 1.
( ?. y3 c/ G2 e% B) b"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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' d. s6 O: [7 k! d3 O9 `2 HThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.
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6 v( E$ H! N6 d+ pTomorrow is mystery.

$ J; _# F" S$ S7 X. D4 N8 w6 G, {; xToday is a gift.

It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.
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. s' R) `2 D  B3 H  h/ x- XIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

- F5 \- I( `4 p/ h* b6 u) N7 _Today is a gift.