The Push… Hello weekend readers. Al and I looked at the calendar and realized that half of March is gone and within a few weeks we will be gone—to northern New Mexico! So, “the push is on” to get everything we want to take, store away what we don’t need, make sure vehicles and the big rig and the Mini-Lite are ready to go, etc. And this made me musing on how many times I need a push–or maybe a friend needs one; a push is important for us, even if it is something we don’t want. I knew a bit about the story of Weight Watchers from friends so I looked up the history and found an incredible story…imagine that!

Jean Nidetch was a 214-pound homemaker desperate to lose weight. So she went to the New York City Department of Health where she was given a diet devised by Dr. Norman Jolliffe. Two months later, discouraged about the 50-plus pounds she still needed to lose, she decided to invite six overweight friends to her home. She wanted to share the diet and talk about how on earth one can stay on it. The end of the story is amazing: today, more than one million members attend weekly meetings at 25,000 Weight Watchers in 24 countries!

In an episode on 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl asked her how she was able to help people take control of their lives. Her story says it all: “To answer that, let me give my story. When I was a teenager, I used to cross a park where I saw mothers gossiping while the toddlers sat on their swings with no one to push them. So I would ask the moms if I could give them a push on the swing and they all said “yes” so I’d give them a push and I learned something: “You know what happens when you push a kid on a swing? Pretty soon they are pumpin’– doing it themselves, and loving every moment. I believe that God is telling me that this is what my role in life is—I’m there to give others a push. And I love it, and they help me push, too. A push is powerful to change a life.”

In Hebrews 3:13-14 [EEB] the writer says: “…help each other to be strong every day. Today, you can still hear God’s message. While that is still true, do not refuse to obey God. Do not think that sin will not hurt you. That is a lie. We must continue to trust Christ very well, as we did when we first believed in him. We must continue to trust him until the end of our lives. Then we will share in everything that is his.”

In Philippians 3:13-14 [CEV] the Apostle Paul says to us: “My friends, I don’t feel I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. I run and push toward the goal, so I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done.”

Who has given you a push when you need it? What did it mean for you? So often in the Christian life, others arounds us need a push as well but they can’t find a pusher! Like Jean, that’s where we come in. You may say, “I don’t think I could do that” but really, you can because God has given you all that you need to spur on someone who needs a push. In fact, giving that push is our job as Christians. We are to lift up each other in every way we can. And if you think you can’t, have a sit-down with God and you will find the strength and the best way to give that push they so need.

Look at it this way: you lift up someone today, and when the day comes that you need a push they’ll be there for you! This is not a one-way street. It’s a boomerang that sends it out and it comes back to you. That is what caring and sharing is. For me, when I think of a push I have to connect the word ‘encouragement’, which is one of the most powerful gifts God has given us, so let’s use it. Let’s PUSH to help one another. AMEN.