He was there

6--Kyle

One day—when I was a freshman in high school—I saw a new kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle.

It looked like he was carrying all of his books. And 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. But as I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They knocked all his books out of his arms and tripped 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 as he crawled around looking for his glasses, and I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I spoke.

“Those guys are jerks, don’t worry about them.”

He looked at me and smiled. “Thanks,” 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 and me.

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.

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 friends—best friends. When we were Seniors we were forced to think about college.

Kyle decided on Georgetown and I was set on going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, and even the miles would never be a problem.

He was going to be a doctor and I was going into 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. And I was so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and speak.

Graduation day, I saw Kyle. 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 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.

He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled....

“Thanks,” He said, and then he went up to give his speech to the school and parents.

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 you all 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 first day we met.

“When I came here as a freshman, I was the new kid. The kid that people ignored, or the kid that people would pick on. It got so bad, in fact, that I couldn’t think about continuing life like that. I began to contemplate suicide.”

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. A fellow classmate of mine saw me as I was walking home, and came up to me, and helped me with the books. Completely oblivious to the fact that I was planning what I was.”

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.

“I owe my life to my best friend, because it was him that kept me from pulling that trigger. It was him that stopped me from jumping off a bridge. It was my best friend who, unknowingly saved my life.”

Not until that moment did I realize my actions’ 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 others lives to impact one another in some way.

Look for God in others.