24 Jan Yeah, You Do The Walk of Life…
“…and after all the violence and double talk, there’s just a song in all the trouble and the strife, you do the walk, yeah, you do the walk of life, you do the walk of life.” ~ Walk of Life by Mark Knopfler
Several years ago my good friend received a phone call that changed his life. The police had arrested his son. His only child. I saw the report in the paper the following day and called my friend. He was heartbroken. My friend is a great guy, single dad, Christian and fellow coach. He mentioned that some close friends, and a few not-so-close friends had begun to pull away from him. I asked him a few details, court dates, etc.… and told him to keep me apprised because I wanted to be there for him. Over the following months I walked with him through as much as was appropriate and after his son’s sentencing we met for lunch. The first thing he asked me was why standing with him through his struggle was important to me. I told him that everyone needs someone to stand by them when things get tough… and for him, things were tough.
I thought of this chapter in my life when we began preparing for the annual Christian Center Walk a Mile in My Shoes event. I thought about how I love seeing so many people, so much diversity from all walks of life standing, and walking in solidarity for the sole purpose of supporting our struggling neighbors.
I realized that this is one area we all have in common. We all know someone who’s struggling to stay out of homelessness, to keep food on the table or to keep the lights on; a friend, a neighbor, a relative or ourselves. As you read this, a name or face, came to your mind.
Many of our neighbors are struggling; families that have become unraveled and struggling to keep their heads above water; a sudden illness or job loss that devastates a family’s savings, the single mom who has to choose between feeding her family and paying rent. The need is great, but so is hope.
The Christian Center provides shelter, food, clothing, life skills training and more to struggling men, women and children in East Central Indiana. Serving over two-thousand families and individuals we have discovered that serving a hot nutritious meal not only feeds a person for the moment but can also help them stay out of homelessness. That same hot meal eliminates the “do we eat or do we pay rent?” dilemma for families. So do clothing vouchers, hygiene products and many other services for families. TCC provides shelter for men ready to step out of the chaos of their lives and start over. A second chance that includes job training, life skills and spiritual development, opportunities to further their education, counseling, accountability and so much more.
One-Hundred and six thousand meals served, 42,000 articles of clothing and hygiene items and 21,000 safe bed nights in 2019. God is changing lives and hearts. With your help TCC will continue to set historic records for services provided and lives changed.
Now it’s your chance to stand with struggling families, the working poor, the homeless guy, and walk in solidarity with your community in support of those who have found that life has gotten tough, but they don’t have to stand alone.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes Anderson is a unique opportunity to stand together. We will gather on Saturday February 8th at Reardon Auditorium on the beautiful Anderson University Campus and walk one mile to The Christian Center where we will celebrate with refreshments and music and hand-out awards and acknowledge the work that’s been done and the challenges that lie ahead. I’ll be there and I hope you will as well.
To register for Walk a Mile in My Shoes go to: www.thechristiancenter.org/walk/
God Bless you and your family. I pray you will never find yourself desperate, hungry and alone. But if you do, The Christian Center is here to help, because no one should stand alone when life gets tough.
Rob Spaulding
January 20, 2020