Never Underestimate How Your Life Can Impact Another Person's Life.

There was once a young man who was contemplating suicide.   This young man felt that there was no reason to live anymore, because he did not feel worthy of living. His whole life he had been made to feel like he was not good enough. He came from a broken home, he was picked on at school and to top it off, he had no friends to turn to in his times of hurt. So he decided to end it all... it seemed the easiest thing to do. He decided to take his life right after school, but little did he know his life was about to change.   As he was getting his things from his locker, his notebook fell on the ground spreading out all his papers all over the floor. Before he could bend down to pick it up, he noticed another set of hands gathering the papers of his notebook off the ground. He looked up and saw a smile.  

"Let me help you with these," she said.

  This mysterious young lady, whom he had never seen before quickly handed him his fallen belongings. With the smile still on her face she said, "There you go! Got to get to class. Have a great day." And she hurried away down the hall before he could get a word out.   Shocked at the kindness he had received, the young man couldn't believe it. This simple act of kindness had left a lasting impression on him. For the first time in a long time he realized that he was worth something. He knew that even if it was for five minutes, someone cared about him. This changed him. He began to think maybe his life wasn't worth taking after all. That afternoon when he got back from school his plans changed. He decided to keep his life and began hoping for a bright future.   I'm sure there are many morals to this story, but the one I want to emphasized is the significance of a simple act of kindness. The main one being that so many times we are so caught up with our busy schedules and our own problems that we fail to recognize the needs of those around us. We fail to recognize that just a simple smile towards someone can change their whole day, maybe even life.   The truth is we never know what someone is going through... what pain they may be feeling... or what battles they are fighting. How many times have we passed by the janitor mopping the floor, the cashier at your grocery store or the teacher staying behind to grade papers?   And, how many times have we genuinely smiled at them and asked them how they are doing? The chances are probably not often enough. It's never too late to be a blessing to someone else. We were put on this earth to make a positive difference in the lives of those around us. Never underestimate the light you carry within you that can brightens someone's life!   I encourage you to carry this notion with you throughout your day and that you do at least one act of kindness for someone else. You never know what difference your smile can make. Friends, life is truly valuable. Every person, no matter how small or big, young or old, is more than worthy of life. No one should ever be made to feel that ending their life is a solution.   It's up to us to stand up for life and to help our brothers and sisters realize how truly valuable they are!   Will you be your brother's keeper? I hope you will.   Praying for you!