You never know

sweetspot

One day, when I was a freshman in high school,
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/ E: O0 I) Q# S% ?' G- JI saw a kid from my class was walking home from school.

+ z1 T/ P# I, Q* t' X4 R1 E5 K" nHis name was Kyle.
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: {+ `8 Y, j0 i; J8 d8 EIt looked like he was carrying all of his
Books.

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

: v# u! U0 l3 uHe must really be a nerd."
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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.

3 q8 r/ `2 S- Y0 U3 W, {* Y2 fThey ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt.
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7 J! k4 B# \7 ^1 SHis glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him.
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4 C; _; Y8 ~% n/ i- c5 N% u# }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.

4 ^& U( `0 S& m# d2 d5 t& bAs I handed him his glasses, I said, "Those guys are jerks.

2 ~1 X2 P- S, d6 [3 U# H% JThey really should get lives.

+ B$ I8 }% D" m" m; f) N" He looked at me and said, "Hey thanks!"
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: ]5 B. o9 j% @+ k0 U: x; tThere was a big smile on his face.
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$ C1 [, x- P' |8 k7 lIt was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

1 m8 w  W7 t0 e/ e3 W' ^/ k* u0 dI helped him pick up his books, and asked him where he lived.

$ G9 r0 E. Q0 }" v" L; g+ |As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before.
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7 {; {. ^/ T% x  s2 `He said he had gone to private school before now.

% H- D( P1 x) |/ P5 ^* \/ OI would have never hung out with a private school kid before.
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We talked all the way home, and I carried some of his books.
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! c* v! e9 J* N* M7 IHe turned out to be a pretty cool kid.
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; p/ @, }, T3 e* J6 H* LI asked him if he wanted to play a little football with my friends.
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+ c) ^% U- A, v+ n/ aHe said yes.

# W0 I& w# V8 J: ^( x/ ^2 ]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.
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; Z$ s/ z4 f8 C( ^8 L: \2 R  wMonday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again.
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I stopped him and said, "Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!

, t, a: h/ j) o  G# ]2 z0 Q" He just laughed and handed me half the books.

4 j) }/ u! O4 ~* A) POver the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends.
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, s3 M3 [2 G8 j  f# pWhen we were seniors, we began to think
: v; F: J, n* S5 {About college.

8 c0 n) B/ y1 U$ I4 G$ n+ S- [3 \Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I
Was going to Duke.
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% H6 G! K6 I4 b& j) OI knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem.
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) M9 n2 }4 `. o$ `He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.
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Kyle was valedictorian of our class.
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I teased him all the time about being a nerd.

He had to prepare a speech for graduation.

" }" j8 Z3 R( ?: Q2 k+ Y+ ?$ e- PI was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak
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/ [8 V8 Z3 H1 M; NGraduation day, I saw Kyle.
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8 B# r6 B5 o1 Y  |5 zHe looked great.

9 |9 z3 c! Y6 f* KHe was one of those guys that really found himself during high school.
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8 n; j* n: K+ ]( E3 v, qHe filled out and actually looked good in glasses.

He had more dates than I had and all the girls loved him.
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) x5 @" _& r4 @# U4 dBoy, sometimes I was jealous.

Today was one of those days.
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( l  L$ P% O8 L8 ]! dI could see that he was nervous about his speech.

: _8 T) @& S3 B4 L! pSo, I smacked him on the back and said, "Hey, big guy, you'll be great!"
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He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled.
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9 G( {) `' t1 q& L"Thanks," he said.

2 c6 a- \5 r3 M. [: ^+ S) o8 e  q3 FAs he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began
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"Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years.
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, {& W- W; N+ v1 |# U1 }Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach...but mostly your friends...

* f- L5 s6 [5 l7 ZI am here to tell all of you that being a
/ W: A8 C! x% k# K. g1 P; tFriend to someone is the best gift you can give them.
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I am going to tell you a story."
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( z2 U; i& n2 v& G$ tI just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met.
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He had planned to kill himself over the weekend.
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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.

; w9 p( l: a- S, ^3 JHe looked hard at me and gave me a little smile.
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% \  |/ W: v9 w0 m"Thankfully, I was saved.

9 x( l8 E, `& X8 Q. nMy friend saved me from doing the unspeakable."
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I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment.
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7 }4 Y: b+ I3 ]. vI saw his Mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile.

Not until that moment did I realize it's depth.
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Never underestimate the power of your actions.

8 Y  B6 B* P! r% e, ~; Y6 U$ ~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.
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Look for God in others.
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You now have two choices, you can:

  m3 R$ T( p4 P' O9 [  v( I; c1) Pass this on to your friends or
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8 [5 }- f) [. g; n8 j* U) P7 c2) Delete it and act like it didn't touch your heart.
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; {8 j( h6 q  Z! u4 d+ jAs you can see, I took choice number 1.
8 a+ W/ c) @' S' p# A"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."

- _6 E6 l+ b; T4 ~. h0 r  TThere is no beginning or end.. Yesterday is history.

Tomorrow is mystery.

Today 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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If it comes back to you, then you'll know you have a circle of friends.

高桥

Yesterday is history.
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Tomorrow is mystery.

% B7 C) |7 h% p! B+ W4 E3 ~! EToday is a gift.