Last night my family participated in the Relay for Life with team “News Crew for a Cure”.
Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity. It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer. Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path. Each team is asked to have a representative on the track at all times during the event. Relays are an overnight event, up to 24 hours in length.
It was my first time attending this event and I was completely unprepared for the emotion of seeing all the people wearing the purple shirts indicating that they have been touched directly by cancer. The back of the shirts said “Had it. Fought it. Survived it.”
There were far too many purple shirts in the crowd but it helped me know who to pray for, encourage and congratulate.
As we walked the track in the pre-dawn hours, I was thinking about how much easier it would be if all people wore shirts identifying the most pressing issue in their lives:
“Up all night with my newborn baby”
“Losing my home to foreclosure”
“My back is killing me”
“My father died and I miss him so much”
“Just lost my job”
“Feeling unlovable”
Most of us would interact so differently if we were made aware of each other’s needs.
When’s the last time you were cut off on the freeway and gave “the idiot” a dirty look or honked your horn at someone sitting too long at a green light? Have you ever been irritated by a slow cashier or the crying baby on a plane? Would your response to them be different if you could easily identify the irritating behavior by simply reading a shirt and understanding the reason behind it?
We walked all night. We raised some money for cancer research. We had fun serving together as a family. But more important than money raised last night is the fact that those purple Survivor shirts inspired us to consider the needs and experiences of people we pass by on any given day.
Shirts are everywhere if only you have the eyes to see.
