A simple gesture

Mark  was  walking  home  from  school  one day  when he noticed that the boy  ahead of him  had  tripped  and  dropped  all  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.As they walked, Mark discovered the boy's name  was  Bill,  that  he  loved  video  games, baseball  and  history,  that  he  was  having  a lot  of  trouble  with  his  other  subjects,  and that   he   had   just   broken   up   with   his girlfriend.Mark  went  home  after  dropping  Bill  at  his house.  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. Three weeks before graduation, Bill asked Mark if they could talk.Bill  reminded  him  of  the  day  years  ago when  they  had  first  met.  "Do  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  spentsome  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  my books  that  day,  you  did  a  lot  more.  You saved my life."-John W. SchlatterEverybody  can  be  great.You  only  need  a heart  full  of  grace  and  a  soul  generated  by love.

-Martin Luther