Fred Craddock was a professor of homiletics at Candler School of Theology in Atlanta. He told about going to a church to preach one Sunday.
During the afternoon a van pulled up in the church parking lot and a group of youth got out. They were all teenagers who were members of that church. They got out of the van with their sleeping bags and dirty clothes. Craddock said, “They were the most awful looking bunch of kids that you have ever seen.”
They told the pastor they had just gotten home from a work mission trip. In the past week, these youth had joined with others in building a little church for a community in another state. They were exhausted, and looked exhausted. They were waiting for their parents to pick them up, sitting on their bags as they waited. Fred Craddock asked one of the kids, “Are you tired?”
He answered, “Whew! Am I tired!” Then he said, “But this is the best tired I’ve ever been.”
Craddock later wrote, “That is what real joy is all about.” THIS IS THE BEST TIRED I’VE EVER BEEN.
There are so many opportunities to serve and help others in this community. Scouting, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Abraham’s Tent, Habitat for Humanity, local food pantries, Catholic Charities, tutoring programs, Calcasieu Community Clinic, Oasis Women’s Shelter, Salvation Army, the list goes on and on. The needs are great. The opportunities to help are endless.
I hope that someday, in some way, that we will get tired like those kids. The best tired ever.