You never know

sweetspot

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

. c$ |3 D8 V) q# s8 u1 I- ~I saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.
! c# n) K9 ^6 O/ y" h5 b9 W( R; f
7 T+ P+ X- A$ H6 k$ [His name was Kyle.

It looked like he was carrying all of his
) ]$ m7 A$ `# W. w9 J& qBooks.

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

He must really be a nerd."
, {6 c) @/ [; Q( _
I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on.
" z9 R% Y: R* Z4 R
$ F$ ^8 B% Z. |" q5 K( v  _9 H! NAs I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him.
5 l3 t# G/ O/ Z# P8 d6 j% ~8 ]- X
7 k2 Y7 @& l* n/ J+ i8 k# Q0 nThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.

) U( J/ G3 x6 l5 u3 n9 `, lHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.

4 F+ ^& G8 d$ u& G/ \7 O; G5 k6 {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.
( F. |+ W5 j# J  ^, E2 m% r9 N. K
- z2 l2 J$ s0 r/ zAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.
. A2 S  n' K; \9 y) ]* z
They really should get lives.

9 F8 N4 z7 D; ^" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
$ T0 V4 R+ k2 N3 {! Y5 W
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.
& m5 r! X6 _! D6 @$ s
As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
: P( Z9 E( h! d0 n# k9 C( V
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.
% }6 k, }- S' M# B
He turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
! O! @7 I% t1 J4 O  ~) u, C0 k- p
I asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.

$ k1 a9 R4 |) f: r7 wHe said yes.
4 t, {1 S) f; p( w
! w+ m1 I: j5 K; Q! X- \1 qWe 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!

1 _  ^" B$ C! C: B+ |8 @2 R" U; G" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.

. e+ i9 E& z9 {When we were seniors, we began to think
! K' f$ }: y$ f; YAbout college.
0 U7 O' b4 V& \( B: c" F
Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
Was going to Duke.

% C6 [% c) {7 ?% v. _3 V" vI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
6 \- l" G8 U( d* i: `9 ^
) J9 c* z0 ~# t! }# p3 R3 n6 I: [9 uHe was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
) ?! [8 F2 j' H
# H6 x1 ~) ]+ ^8 j) i4 |, R+ nKyle was valedictorian of our class.

I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

5 ?9 x. P0 X# z" y& UHe had to prepare a speech for graduation.
" x. d$ _9 U7 F$ g
/ E5 c$ z0 ?0 J6 M5 _6 n  MI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak

* n0 [/ A1 ~. V  H2 F% C7 {% a( yGraduation day, I saw Kyle.

. B4 G) a, T7 o! xHe looked great.
+ f& v  d; e9 N% R3 x
# v" N& E* e1 d3 B8 R1 FHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
0 z: x3 l5 v5 T# ~: Z% z" }+ B8 [- X
He filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.

7 _8 ]4 a- j* _8 R4 u: Q7 NBoy, sometimes I was jealous.
  \" }& f2 o- ]2 \
$ T+ w9 |! x% D( ^9 _/ NToday was one of those days.

  @0 W! L' D/ g6 o' W  ~- yI 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!"

$ e1 D* ?2 E4 W  }$ ^5 C9 e: j- A8 xHe looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
3 m( e+ [6 F# ?: R# z
"Thanks," he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began

4 L, t- ^# t' \7 c! b% @3 f"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
8 L* W7 M( ~4 X9 \! `
Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...

I am here to tell all of you that being a
3 e9 f% r: Q2 \$ H4 Z4 G- IFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.

I am going to tell you a story."
' S4 s+ r6 l6 g- x. g% U
: ~" ]. |+ c6 o6 [! g, U) WI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
2 k& P5 c5 q2 K# V5 B: R7 j- l
He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
2 I# E" R! ]3 Y5 B4 _4 [& A2 \
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.

8 v# s% V9 z" RHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.

"Thankfully, I was saved.
0 I1 E2 @; o( ]1 \  ?0 P  Y
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.

( W6 y4 D: ?' O5 KI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
: k7 v' D4 b' ~+ d. d# a2 L
# U- E. d# \5 K. PNever underestimate the power of your actions.

, R% p0 y2 j6 p5 OWith one small gesture you can change a person's life.

For better or for worse.
" Z; i& J2 t5 f& q+ d/ h
, F$ V+ m& g/ Q5 h3 \1 PGod puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.
' N: O' G/ {; f* _
' [3 f& V& Q. d. Z9 Y2 r' UYou now have two choices, you can:

1) Pass this on to your friends or

+ }! x# v/ g/ B2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.

  }, ]/ d; z6 c. J: V; K5 G2 nAs 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."
  X$ i0 V! f3 m& @
4 [4 F! g% b# Y$ |$ W, E3 z% `5 H5 LThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.

9 _& U1 [: W( Y$ o" [Tomorrow is mystery.
/ g3 A/ h; Y3 D
Today is a gift.
0 B4 A: O  f' R% Y3 z9 y! T7 E5 ]
$ r& ^2 p/ c4 z$ ?It's National Friendship Week. Show your friends how much you care. Send this to everyone you consider a FRIEND.

4 |6 c! U/ x% ]- b  ^2 j- h, f& sIf it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.

8 I. s: c; ~0 WTomorrow is mystery.
4 L7 ?  h" B5 @# u* R
Today is a gift.