NOTE: This is not a poem. It is an inspirational story that I
wanted to share. We often don't know the difference we are
making in another person's life. Sometimes the people that
we have day to day contact with in our own little world, just
need a special friend who will take the time to care!
Mark was walking home from school one day when he noticed the
boy ahead of him had tripped and dropped all of the books he
was carrying, along with two sweaters, a baseball bat, a
glove and a small tape recorder.
Mark knelt down and helped the boy pick up the scattered
articles. Since they were going the same way, he helped
to carry part of the burden. As they walked Mark discovered
the boy's name was Bill, that he loved video games, baseball
and history, and that he was having lots of trouble with his
other subjects and that he had just broken up with his girlfriend.
They arrived at Bill's home first and Mark was invited in for a
Coke and to watch some television. The afternoon passed pleasantly
with a few laughs and some shared small talk, then Mark went home.
They continued to see each other around school, had lunch together
once or twice, then both graduated from junior high school. They
ended up in the same high school where they had brief contacts
over the years.
Finally the long-awaited senior year came and three weeks before
graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk. Bill reminded
him of the day years ago when they had first met. "Did you ever
wonder why I was carrying so many things home that day?" asked
Bill. "You see, I cleaned out my locker because I didn't want to
leave a mess for anyone else. I had stored away some of my mother's
sleeping pills and I was going home to commit suicide. But after we
spent some time together talking and laughing, I realized that if I
had killed myself, I would have missed that time and so many others
that might follow. So you see, Mark, when you picked up those books
that day, you did a lot more, you saved my life."
Every little hello, every little smile, every helping hand, can save
a hurting heart.
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Excerpted from Laugh and Lift on 11/15, through a daily
email I receive. Copyright credits as noted by their website
at www.laughandlift.com.
