i'm here to help

Good morning..... I am a member of the Retention Committee at the college where I am employed. Last year we initiated a college-wide campaign for employees to welcome students back to campus, become more visible and available to help with questions and issues. We all wore "I'm here to help" buttons for the first couple of weeks of the semester. It was well-received and we are wearing the buttons again now as we prepare to begin the semester on Monday.

This morning as I was getting dressed to work, I put my nametag and " I'm here to help" button and it just sort of hit me in a different way.  Aren't we all really HERE....put on this earth.....to help others?  I sincerely believe that I AM....and I want to try every day to help, inspire, and comfort others, not in the same ways that I would do at work, but in ALL WAYS and ALWAYS!   I believe that one of the main reasons that God chose to bless me with this miracle; to give me a second chance at life; to set me free from the bondage of obesity and disability was to be a light in the darkness and help others.    Certainly I could...and I did try....to help others BEFORE my journey began, but it definitely is a lot easier now that I can walk, move, and get around better.  BUT....no matter where we find ourselves along the path...no matter how heavy we are, how addicted we feel, how sick, lame, depressed, poor, stressed, etc.. we are.....WE ALL ARE HERE TO HELP. How we accept struggles and infirmities in a positive way helps others who are facing the same thing.  How we forgive those who hurt us, even when we are full of sadness and disappointment, teaches others to forgive and show mercy.  How we react when others have more than we do, lose weight faster than we do, make more money, have an easier time in life, seem to "have it all"....when we are happy when good things happen to others....when we are sad when others are hurting.....when we give thanks for all our blessings.....and when we keep trying when we fail or falter.....is an opportunity to HELP others.  And it has nothing to do with the size of our britches or the number on the scale.

This evening I will be doing a 2-3 hour Skype interview for a TV production company that wants to feature me on a television show in Japan.  To be honest with you, the interview is late (for me) and will last well after my bedtime and I'm already tired from long hours at work this week and I really, truly am not all that excited about it....but I will remind myself that " I AM HERE TO HELP" and perhaps, just perhaps, if they go through with the show, it will help someone on the other side of the world.  Things are not always about US....but about how what we do....what we say.....how we act  can help someone else.

Today as I face a very long day on only a few hours sleep, I am going to try to be very conscious of all the opportunities that I encounter to help someone else....because really.....when we help others, we change, not only their lives, but our own as well.  

Make it a good day for you....and for someone else too...and remember.... WE ARE HERE TO HELP!!!!