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I
Was Saved
This
story is somewhat lengthy, but it a good story.
It leaves you with something to think about.
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 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, “Dang 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.
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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 did
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.
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