Soles of Hope

   This morning was the 5th annual  "Soles of Hope" at my church.  It was started to honor the memory of a little boy who died of cancer, and I have been blessed to take part in this ministry.  We served breakfast to over 1000 people, gave away over 600 pairs of sneakers, and each family took home a big box of groceries.

   My job was to help the little boys find the perfect pair of shoes at the 5 - 7 1/2 size table.  Some came in with flip-flops or no shoes at all, and as I put socks on dirty little feet, my heart was full of joy to be able to put a smile on the face of boys and parents. One grandma said she didn't know what they would have done without our help. Another burst into tears as she explained that she had just moved here yesterday --"You don't know what this means to me" she said.
    Although our table was stacked high with shoes at 9:00, by 10:30 we only had a single pair of sizes 5 and 7, so I quickly drove to Walmart and bought more, getting back just in time to make more boys happy!

     I was also happy to see some of my former kindergarten students -- so sweet to get hugs and smiles as they recognized me. I loved those kids.
     While the media is full of reports about that small group of racists demonstrating, I prefer to think about the large group of loving people bending down to tie shoes on feet of every color. There are lots more people serving God by serving others than there are of the hateful groups that get all the attention. And I'd much rather be on my knees tying shoes than waving signs and yelling hateful words.

Encourage One Another Daily

   I get a message from my friend Denise almost every day on my Fitbit saying something like,"What are you doing today to reach your goals?"  Many times I am sitting in my overstuffed chair doing NOTHING until I read that message. She reminds me that I do have goals, and her reminder is an encouragement to get up and get started.
   My scripture reading today was from Hebrews 3. "Encourage one another daily so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness."  I was thinking about how important church is to my state of mind. After another few days of Facebook posts and news reports of violence, racism, demonstrations, ranting and raving about political leaders -- I NEEDED to go to church and see smiling faces, get hugs and handshakes, sing songs of praise, and hear prayers and a message about love. I can't make it a whole week -- I need the midweek gathering too. So when I read in my Bible that Paul said "Encourage one another DAILY" -- I knew why he thought that was important.
   It doesn't take a lot to encourage someone -- even a "like" on Facebook or a short message on my Fitbit makes me feel better about things.  I actually wrote a note to an old friend, put a stamp on it and mailed it this week -- my friend doesn't do Facebook -- because I was thinking of her. I don't do that often enough. It is easy to start feeling isolated when you don't have a job that requires you to leave your house, and my church friends and Chorus friends have become even more important than before.  I was grateful for the opportunity to share my story with the younger ladies Encouragehers Sunday School class last week -- and I hope my experiences were an encouragement to some of them.
    This Saturday our church Family Life Center will be full as we invite the community to come to Soles of Hope -- we will give new shoes to all the children, breakfast and a big box of groceries to each family. Life is hard sometimes, and we find joy in being able to give to others. The big smiles that come with the new shoes give us all a lift. It is such a blessing to see so many from church here to serve and help children find new shoes.
     So encouragement works both ways -- whether giving or receiving -- all are blessed.