Help a Sista out

Before I get into this devotional I would like to share with you a very memorable moment that happened to me a few years ago. I was the only squash coach who was able to train on this particular wintery night and as I drove closer to the gym I began dreading the next two hours of babysitting twelve kids by myself.  However,  when I arrived a few minutes late I was surprised to see only one kid on the court. Knowing the next hour of coaching was going to be stress free I instantly perked up and was motivated to give this boy my full attention. Little did I know, this would turn out to be one of my crappiest coaching experiences to date. About five minutes into the session I could have sworn that this child had farted in my mouth. I immediatly set up a drill so we were on opposite sides of the court, but I could still smell the terrible  aroma  under my nose. It was if I was trapped in a room with a skunk that had a stomach flu and a chronic case of Irratible bowel syndrome. Just when I thought things could not get worse, little Sean started shaking his pants.  I was standing in the service box waiting for him to stop figiting so that I could feed him the ball but all of his focus when to the bottom of his pant leg. I just stood there about six feet from away, watching him balance on his left leg as he vigorously shakes the other one. This went on for about 25 seconds and I kept thinking to myself ’What is this kid doing?’. I thought maybe he had and itch or maybe a bug was biting him. Then suddenly he stopped, and both of our eyes  gazed at the bottom of his pant leg, waiting for whatever it was to fall out. And there it was, a small, dark brown, mushy poop nug.  I was in shock. I had no idea what to do or what to say. Do I pretend I don’t know? Do I tell him? That might embarrass him.Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh.  As I just stood there weighing out the pro’s and cons, little Sean winds up his leg and smushes his poop into the court, hiding the evidence into the cracks of the court and the imprints on the bottom of his shoe. The small little poop nug was now gone and replaced with a big brown poop streak and the powerful aroma of the same lingering fart that did not escape my nostrils. I ended the practice early and got the mess cleaned up in the end, but this was definatley a memory that I will never forget.  

 Ecclesiastes 4:9 “Two are better than one; For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow brother: but woe to him that is alone when he falls; for he has not another to help him up.”  

When I reflect on this experience I am reminded of two very important life lessons: The first is this: Lets face it, we all have made a mess from the crap going on in our lives. Now I’m not saying that we accidentally poop on the floor like little Sean, but figuratively speaking we all have some sort of crap that tends disrupt out peace every now and then. Maybe you have some crap going on in your life right now that you don’t know how to deal with and perhaps like Sean, are embarrassed of the mess you have made. Why are we so afraid to ask others for help and why do we always want to carry our own load and try to clean up the mess on our own. There is a lie floating around that says we have to have everything together and only the weak ask others for help. But that could not be further than the truth. We need to humble ourselves and learn to open up to others about the trials that are going on in our life. The crap in our life does not dissapear if we avoid it and it will not go away by trying to hide it. It will rott and eventally the stench will pollute your soul. So from now on do not be afraid to ask others for guidance or encouragement. If you choose pride or embarassement over humility the outcome will be the same as little Sean, you will end up making a bigger mess than you started with.

  Galatians 6:2  “bear one anothers burdens, and so fulfill the law of christ”

 The second lesson I have learned is that we as Christ followers should be looking for opportunities to help people out with some of the crap you sense them going through. If I would have listened to that inner voice on the squash court telling me “say something, do something, help him” there would not have been such big mess  to clean up in the end. We have to obey that inner voice urging us to step out of our comfort zone and help someone in need. I regret the times I have walked away from a person or friend who I knew needed help and later wished I could have said what God put on my heart to say in that very moment. A part of reflecting the love of Christ means that we need to wake up every morning looking to serve one another and like it says in Galatians ”bear one anothers burdens”. It is your responsibility to obey the guidance of the Holy Spirit and bring the light to those who you see are stumbling. Instead of watching from a distance why not make it your goal to take a step forward and encourage, pray with, express your thanksgiving, compliment, offer advice, or just be kind to a friend or stranger in need. Jesus says in Matthew 25:40 ”Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of mine, you did for me”.