Let Your Light Shine Before Men

Bob and Britt and I found 25 high school kids from Britt's high school to help run the Candlelighters Night Run in our community benefitting children with cancer at Cook Children's Hospital. Above are seven of our high school girls who were The Chip Officials giving out the chips and cutting them off the ankles as the runners crossed the finish line.

Candlelighters Chidhood Cancer Foundation is a national grassroots “families helping families” initiative founded in 1970 by parents of children with cancer. Today there are more than 50 chapters in the U.S. One of my dear friends, Julie Gayle, is the president of the Board of Directors for the Fort Worth chapter. It was the privilege of our high school teens to participate in helping raise funds for this organization who is making a difference in the cancer community of Fort Worth.

While our students had lots of fun volunteering---handing out glow sticks to cancer patients, cheering runners on, being Chip Officials and clipping chips off their ankles, and handing out bottles of water to those who crossed the finish line---yes, it was a fun volunteer project, but it was a visible presence in our community of a group of LCCS high school students who cared about making a difference in someone else’s lives. Teens today are so self-obsessed in how they feel, how they look, how they dress, how they come across. But here was a group of 25 teens who cared to offer their time and smiles and help for those who are quite desperate at this moment in their lives.

There was a local teen named Trent who didn’t make it to the race this year---he passed away a short few weeks ago. But 50 of his loyal supporters donned red T-shirts and ran the race in Trent ’s honor. You can’t pass out water and witness something like 50 red-shirted runners passing you by without evaluating why am I here and what will I do with my life? What an honor to Trent's name to have such loyal family and friends show up and carry the torch, so to speak. It moved me deeply.

A diagnosis of childhood cancer is devastating---overnight, normal lives turn upside down. But these 25 students helped make this race successful and they were actually a small part of raising thousands of dollars that will go toward the Candlelighters programs and services in our community. Our kids may say that all I did was pass out a glowstick or a bottle of water or clipped a chip…but it is the light that we have in our hearts that we give away. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Matthew 5:14. Thank you for letting your light shine before men on a Fort Worth night. You were noticed!