Being
a friend could save a life, and more.
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.
Being a Friend could
save a life, and more. (cont.)
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 his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool
kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and
my friends. He said yes.
We hung around together 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, "Darn 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.
Being a Friend could
save a life, and more. (cont.)
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 me 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 its 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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save a life, and more.
