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 friend 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, "Damn
 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 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 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.