The Least Of These

My oldest son ran track in high school and college.
It was the perfect sport for him.
He was not competing against the other runners as much as he was competing against himself.
It was a matter of personal best.

Track meets are long events.
Having four other children, I would often ask him the timing of his particular race.
He had a sense of where the 400 meter race would fall in the lineup.
I would get there a bit before and watch him run.

I was always impressed with his speed.
He knew, even in a short race like that, pacing yourself is everything.
Some runners would start out lightning fast.
As they rounded the final curve, they seemed to lose speed.

That final curve is where my son would pick up speed.
I would tease him that, at a certain point on the track, he turned on the after burners.
It happened every time.
There was this burst of speed that happened when others seemed to get tired.

It always amazed me.
He knew his body.
He knew how to pace himself.
He knew when to exert himself a bit more.

I was intrigued that distance runners and speed runners were so vastly different.
My son knew that a distance race was not something he could do with skill.
Perhaps, if he trained and ran further and further each day, it would make a difference.
His skill was in the 400 meter race and he knew it.

I would often see the cross country team running all over town.
They ran in a group.
They seemed equally matched as far as speed.
However, there were always those who straggled behind.

I knew that I could never run the distance they ran.
I knew that my son never chose to run cross country.
I often saw the runners at the beginning of their practice.
I would sometimes see them at then end, as they headed back to school.

They were spent.
They were exhausted.
The vim and vigor, I saw at the beginning, was no longer there.
They ran no matter the weather or the temperature.

At the Santa Barbara County Animal Shelter, coordinator Stacy Silva came up with a plan that high school cross country coach Luis Escobar couldn’t refuse.

“You’ve got a bunch of dogs that are in cages, and want to be outside running, and I’ve got a group of high school students that love to run,’” Escobar said. “Perfect match.”

“When the dogs realized that they were getting out of those kennels and to go outside as a group, it was just happy chaos,” he said.

When these kids from St. Joseph High first ran with the shelter dogs in August, Escobar posted a short video, just to share the moment with parents and the school community. But all of a sudden, “there were millions and millions of views and shares,” he said. (https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shelter-dogs-get-more-than-a-workout-with-california-high-school-cross-country-team/)

Watch the full video here.

Stacy Silva said the dogs that are exercised and socialized are more adoptable.
The dogs do not have as much pent up energy.
The dogs enjoy the attention that they are getting.
This program has benefited both the dogs and the team.

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Who are the least of these?
For St. Joseph’s High School cross country team, the least of these were shelter dogs.
As we walk down a city street, the least of these are the homeless people.
There are other, least of these, in plain sight.

What about the boy or girl sitting alone at the lunch table?
What about the single mom who just needs a few hours to herself?
What about the co-worker who never gets asked to join the group after work?
What about the elderly neighbor who sits alone in her house with no one to visit her?

The least of these can easily be overlooked.
The least of these comes in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life.
The least of these may be right in front of us.
It takes time and discernment to notice them and to see their needs.

Pairing the need with a person is so important.
It may be as simple as the cross country team running with shelter dogs.
It may be as sweet as carrying the dog, or the person, when they just cannot go on.
It is coming alongside and building relationships.

It is loving one another.
Who needs you today?
Are you ready?