I am not a runner.
I’ve never been a runner and I don’t like running.
It makes me hot and sweaty.
I get out of breath just walking up a hill.
I like my sleep, and I’m just too busy.
So why would I sign up to run a half-marathon?
Because it can change lives.
A baby, picked up by police for begging on the streets.
I run for her.
A little girl, abandoned with her two brothers.
I run for them.
A young man, in prison for 3 years.
I run for him.
Since August 2011, I’ve been living in Uganda and working for Sixty Feet. And now I’m moving home. Soon, I’ll be leaving the children and the people that I’ve grown to adore. I won’t be able to see their sweet faces and hug their necks every week. I won’t be here to love on them, learn from them, or advocate on their behalf anymore.
New interns will come and take my place and the Sixty Feet staff will continue to pour out their hearts and their lives everyday to help these children. And even though I won’t be on the ground in Uganda anymore, I can still do something to help.
We can do something to help.
We can run for them. We can raise money to support an organization that God is using to change the lives of imprisoned children.
The money can put a child in school who didn’t think they had a future.
It can pay for life-changing surgeries.
It can provide additional nutritious food to kids.
It enables Sixty Feet to have staff who help keep the ministry running.
And to me, this matters.
These kids matter.
So I run.
Running is hard; it takes time and commitment. But, to be honest, living in prison is harder and if I can do anything to make it even a teensy bit better for them, then running will be worth it. And let me tell you, when you see joy on their faces, hope in their eyes, and hear laughter from their lips, it is worth it.
So, will you join me and run for them?
“If you excuse yourself, saying, ‘Look, we didn’t know anything about this,’ doesn’t God, who knows what you’re really thinking, understand your motives? Isn’t your Protector aware of why you aren’t protecting the innocent? Will He not repay you in kind?” Proverbs 24:12