FOODFORTHOUGHT

YOUR ACTIONS MAY CHANGE A LIFE
Author Unknown
August 7, 2011

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
his books. He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he
wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said
yes. We hung 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, 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 me 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 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.

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