Friendship Stories
Angels
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. 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
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.
"Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when
our wings have trouble remembering how to fly."
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