Walking in Another’s Shoes – That’s Friendship

By Stan Friedman

DESOTO, TX (December 21, 2011) – A spontaneous small act by a little child at CrossRoads Covenant Church is one that Pastor Josef Rasheed says he will always remember.

Each holiday season, CrossRoads hosts holiday dinners and worship services that are designed as an outreach to the needy in their community. As part of the evenings, food baskets are given to people who are referred by local organizations.

Arriving for the most recent worship service, Rasheed pulled into the parking lot and heard a young girl crying, “But they hurt, they hurt.” The adult who the pastor thought was her father entreated her to hurry in. Rain was falling.

“But they hurt really bad!” the girl cried again. The man replied, “Well, just leave them right there and come on.”

So the girl left them, and then the man and girl made their way across the parking lot. Rasheed already had entered the building and started greeting workers when the two walked in.

“I immediately looked at her feet, and she had no shoes,” Rasheed says. The man (Gregg) explained that even though his granddaughter, Emmy, didn’t have shoes on, it was important to get inside. “We need the food,” the grandfather said.

“I couldn’t hold back the tears,” Rasheed recalls. He whispered to his wife, Rochelle, and asked if she would go to the Walgreens across the street and see if they might have shoes that would fit Emmy.

Before Rochelle could even start for the store, four-year-old Sierra Gadsen walked up to Emmy and said, “Hi, my name is Sierra. What’s your name?”

After the introduction, Sierra asked, “Would you like to play with me?” The two took off running down the hall.

When they returned from playing, Rasheed noticed something had changed. “Emmy had on shoes and Sierra did not.”

After the service, the grandfather, Gregg Saner, asked if Rasheed would visit his mother, Doris. “She’s in hospice.” Rasheed assured Saner that he would.

“As he and Emmy left the church, Sierra and Emmy embraced and smiled as they said their goodbyes,” Rasheed says. “Afterwards, I asked Sierra what happened to her shoes.”

She hesitated to answer. Concerned that she might embarrass her new friend, Sierra replied, “I forget.”

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Comments

  • What an awesome reminder that all God wants us to do is to love one another by sharing who we are, not what we can attain.  Truly share ourselves!  Little Sierra by her unselfish act of kindness reminds us “grown ups” to just break it down and simplify the love of Christ.

    Thank you for sharing this story with us.

  • What an awesome example for the rest of us. We often use the the phrase “out of the mouth of babes”, if we can replace the word “mouth” with “hearts” and the children are our future, this country is looking up. Praise God!

  • The compassion of Christ shown through a 4 year old.   If only the rest of us would live it and give it so freely and without hesitation.  Great article.

  • I want to be just like Sierra! What a witness and a blessing.

    Matthew 6:3 “But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”

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