Perhaps you are familiar with this quote from Mr. Rogers: “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”  I’ve been thinking about this during the past few weeks.  It is a great reminder that there are always people out there who are helping others.

But I’ve been thinking about the quote in another way.  Am I a helper?  Are you a helper?  We can’t just wait for other people to be the helpers, we need to be ready to be the helpers.  We all need to be ready to help when there is need, for when we are the person in need, we will be grateful for the helpers who come to our aid.

One of the first times where I saw a true helper has been seared in my mind forever.  I was in First Grade and my mother was very ill.  She had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, which was crippling her body, and then she came down with the flu.  She had been in bed for a week while my father was trying to manage our family of five children, ages nine and under.  Things were not going well.

I got home from school one day and had made myself a snack when the doorbell rang.  It was Lorraine Ball, one of the nicest women I knew at church.  She was really fun and so I was happy she had stopped by for a visit.  I started to take her up to my mother’s room but she said to me, “I’ll visit your mom in a bit.  I’ve come to clean your bathrooms.”  I was in shock!  Our bathrooms were a disaster because none of us had bothered to clean them since my mom hadn’t been reminding us to do our chores.

Lorraine got to work while we kids stood slack jawed.  We finally realized that maybe we could start straightening other rooms in the house as she cheerfully scrubbed our bathrooms and soon the house was much cleaner.  Then she went in to visit my mother.  I learned that afternoon what it meant to be a true friend.  My mom was in tears as she visited with her friend, amazed that she would come do such a selfless act for her.

How often do we say to someone, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” but do we ever actually go and help that person?  As I’ve said many times before, words matter.  It’s a kind phrase to say, but do we really mean it?  Will we follow through and be the helper that the person needs us to be?  Perhaps you won’t show up and clean someone’s bathrooms, but there are so many other things that can be done to help someone in need.

Years ago my brother got married in Germany.  His wife was from there and he had been living there with her for a while before the wedding.  They had planned everything out and we all flew in about a week before the wedding to do some sightseeing.  The day of the wedding was a joyous day and very traditional Austrian/German.  They had planned a delicious dinner for extended family and friends with music and entertainment.

At the end of the reception my parents and siblings and I got up and started clearing tables.  My brother stood back and watched how none of us had been asked to do this; we just sprang into action.  Then he bellowed out, “I love it!  Hansens help!”  We all looked up from what we were doing and laughed.  We were doing what came naturally, but he had realized in that moment that they hadn’t planned for how they would get the reception hall cleaned up and now the problem was being solved by his family who knew how to help.

In this season of giving, we often spend lots of time and money looking for a perfect gift for a family member or friend.  Yes, these gifts are appreciated and are meaningful.  But what if we considered giving gifts of helping where there is need?  What if we started looking for ways to help others by small acts of service and then extended that throughout the year?  Better yet, what if we did these acts of service anonymously?

Let us become better helpers by reaching out to those around us.  Start small; pick up some trash the next time you see it lying around.  The next time you say, “Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help,” go and actually do something to help that person.  Try the website JustServe.org to find service opportunities in our area.  When it snows, shovel a few more feet down your sidewalk to help your neighbors.  As more people become helpers, there will be more helpers for others to look to when they are in need.  Being a helper is not that hard, but it makes a tremendous, lasting difference.