We witness bullying
every day and the stories are remarkable. Many cannot tolerate the
harsh treatment so end their lives. If the following story
inspires one to not commit suicide, then the inspiration speaks
for itself.
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 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.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings
have trouble remembering how to fly."
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