Jesus Christ Blog

       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 wen!
       t 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 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.