One day, while on the bus in Port Credit, I encountered a man and his two young daughters. The young girls immediately gravitated towards me, and we chatted the whole ride. Several minutes later, my stop arrived. As I was getting off the bus, I noticed that the shoelaces of the youngest were undone. “Oh sweetie,” I called over, “I wish I had seen that your laces are undone. I would have tied them for you!” “Tie my shoelaces now!!!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. Fortunately, it seemed this was their stop as well, since the father and his daughters exited the bus. I asked her father permission to tie the girl’s shoelaces, and he gave it. I tied her laces. Soon, the older daughter was also exclaiming, “One of my laces is undone too!” I didn't want her to feel left out or ignored, so I simply tied her shoes. I thanked the gentleman for allowing me to help his daughters. He thanked me back, explaining, “Myself, I cannot help them. I only have use of one hand.” In parting, I recalled the words of my father so many years ago: “Do you know what it is to be Christian?” my father asked. “Yes,” I replied, “we go to church.” “It is much more than that,” he instructed. “If you are somewhere in society and see someone struggling, you need to walk over to them and help. That is being Christian.”

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Cheryl Roma Yarek is a mental health advocate and public speaker with an interest in seeing Christianity and its focus as a means of helping people manage, cope, love, and even - survive.

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