Ben, that's a really nice message and I think it applies to all humanity, not just us predominately Judeo-Christian (North) Americans. Thanks f/sharing it.
Later, Steve in Memphis ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ben Johansen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'WiTango List'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; "'RBase List'" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, December 11, 2002 2:13 PM Subject: [OT] Hope this moves you as it did me > Author Unknown > > 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 > 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. (1 Cor. > 8:9-10) > > God puts us all in each other's lives to impact one another in some way. > Look for God in others. > (Acts 17:26) > > 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. > (Matt. 5:15-16) > > 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. > (Hebrews 13:2) > > Tomorrow is mystery. (Matthew 6:34) > > Today is a gift.(James 4:13-15) > > 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. > > > Ben Johansen > (I added the scripture references to back the impact of this message) > > > > ================================================ > TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: > Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l > ================================================ > TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] > In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l > ================================================ > TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: > http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/ ================================================ TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l ================================================ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l ================================================ TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/
