Re: Fwd: Let's see if you send this back...

[Guest guest]

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 . It looked like he was carrying all of h= is

                      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 hi= s

                      arms

and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His          

glasses

                      went

flying, and I saw them land in the grass about te= n

                      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 sa= w

                      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 sho= wed

                      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 ask= ed        

  him

                      why I

had never seen him before. He said he had gone t= o          

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 , the more I liked him, and my

                      friends

thought the same of him.

                      Monday

morning came, and there was 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, and I became best

                      friends.

When we were seniors, we began to think

                      about

college. decided on town, 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.

                      

was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all = the

                      time

about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech fo= r          

graduation.

                      I was

so glad it wasn't me having to get up there and

                      speak.

Graduation day, I saw . 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 h= im.

                      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 bac= k

                      and

said, " Hey, big guy, you'll be great! " He looked a= t        

  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 most= ly

                      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 t= he

                      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.

                      You

now have two choices, you can:

                      1)

Pass this on to your friends or

                      2)

Delete it and act like it didn't touch your

                      heart.

                      As you

can see, I took choice number 1. " Friends are

                      angels

who lift us to our feet when our wings have

                      trouble

remembering how to fly. "

                      There

is no beginning or end..Yesterday is history.

                      Tomorrow

is mystery.

                      Today

is a gift.

                      It's

National Friendship Week. Show your friends

                      how

much you care. Send this to everyone you

                      consider

a FRIEND. If it comes back to you, then

                      you'll

know you have a circle of friends.

                      WHEN

YOU RECEIVE THIS LETTER, YOU'RE

           REQUESTED TO SEND IT TO AT LEAST 10

                      PEOPLE,

INCLUDING THE PERSON WHO SENT

                      IT TO

YOU.

                     

                   

               

                     

  

                  

            

                    

                   

                   

      

              

                              

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