“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” – Matthew 25:35-36

James does not move fast. No matter what you do, no matter how much you plead, James’ feet will do no more than shuffle. James is developmentally disabled but pretty high-functioning, except for this task of going from one place to the next. He has no physical disability that prevents him from moving faster. No one can tell why he insists on taking the smallest of steps.

My sister, Kate, works with James at an agency for people with special needs. “Literally, an aide must start the journey down the hall for the 3:30pm bus with him at 2:30pm,” she explained. “It takes most of his day to get where he is going, but we don’t want to resort to putting him in a wheelchair or something, because he will eventually stop walking altogether. Matt is working with him, though.”

Matt, another special-education specialist, is a gruff, Irish New Yorker who loves to find the smile in every client. It was Matt who took the walk every day with James down the hallway to the bus as others rushed around them. This continued for years, until one day I got a call from my sister.

“You’ll never believe what happened at work . . .” Making their way down the hall to the bus, my sister walked along with her clients. From the back of the throng they heard shouts, “Look out! Coming through!” It was Matt, out of breath and laughing.

As Kate turned, she saw Matt trailing behind a flat-out running James—stepping high, striding long, pumping his arms at his sides. People parted and lined the walls, cheering. The scene was surreal. But Kate took in the clip-clop of brand-new, red, high-top sneakers.

“James,” she called out in cheerful disbelief, “Why are you running?” In his loudest voice, thick with effort, flying past, he replied, “I’m training for a race!” The people in the hall cheered. “Go James!” “Hope you win the race, James!”

It was Matt’s relentless pursuit of James’ freedom that inspired the red sneakers. He bought them on a whim, taking another swing at freeing James from his limitations. Presenting them to James late that afternoon, he laced them up with the challenge, “You know, James, now that you’ve got these sneakers, you’ll have to train for a race. These shoes weren’t made for small steps.” Staring in disbelief, legs extended out in front of him, James jumped up and got to it with no explanation.

Matt spent years finding the key to unlock James. He was patient. And he gave out of his lack, not out of excess. He didn’t have to buy the red shoes, but he did, and they forever changed James’ life.