I don’t know about you, but I enjoy a day off. A day where life is all about me: no chores, no business, no school, and no church.

Life doesn’t seem to give us many of those days. There always seems to be one thing to do where you have to be “on”, and there goes your downtime.

Yesterday was like that for me. All week, I was looking forward to a nice and relaxing weekend when I remembered it was the weekend when I signed up for a 5K. Ugh. I am NOT a runner. I will walk all day, but running is, well, not for me!

So, why would I sign up for a 5K? It benefits children in the inner city who can’t help themselves. It provides money for tutoring, food for meals they just might not get, and funds to run the program of KidPOWER and YouthPOWER through CrossBRIDGE, Inc.

I’ve been working with CrossBRIDGE, Inc. for many years and was working with the kids in this same neighborhood back in 1998. They have been on my heart a long time.

Some weeks when I get ready to tutor and every year when I get ready to walk, there is a moment of “ugh” in my attitude because I want to be about me. Then, I realize there are others in this world that might need someone to stand in the gap. Someone who can speak when they can’t speak.

I find the best cure for selfishness is putting yourself out there to serve others. If I’m not serving regularly, and I get out of that habit, I tend to forget about others and their needs. Serving others when I know they can’t reciprocate is very humbling.

Think about a time when you were working on behalf of others. How did it make you feel? Tired? Spent? Excited? Fulfilled? I know I felt all of those feelings yesterday. There was one thing that stood out to me, though, that made it all worth it.

There was a kid who has succeeded in this program. He has been here since the 4th grade and is now in the 10th grade. He wants to go to college and he sees that in future. He has hope!

Yesterday, he ran the race and finished 2nd overall. This kid, who once couldn’t fight on his own, is now thriving because others have walked before him. Literally, I have walked for him!

He got a big hug from me yesterday and he was recognized at the end of the race for running his race well; including running his life’s race well.

Why do you need to help others? Because we are called to help the least of these. We are called to lift the body. We are called to invite all to become the body of Christ.

We are called to help others because one day, over two thousand years ago, a man named Jesus chose to help the world when He prayed He could be selfish. I’m so glad He chose to help you and me. Let us go and do the same.

If you would like to donate to KidPOWER, you can find more information here.

© 2018 Susan M. Sims

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