A preacher and caregiver’s Brief But Spectacular take on helping people

Judy Woodruff:

Terrell Scruggs is a Tennessee native with a strong sense of his life's calling. He is a preacher and caregiver, providing services to seniors in his Nashville community, even throughout the pandemic.

Tonight, he gives his Brief But Spectacular take on living a life of service.

Terrell Scruggs, Preacher and Caregiver: The caregiving is not a job. You have a — you do a job to make something for yourself. With caregiving, you have to give something back from within yourself.

My mother and my father raised us to be good samaritans. We don't look at color. We don't look at wealth. We don't look at money. We look at the individual person. And if we can help them, we do.

I was raised in church, about church. I breathe church. I live church. We are religious by choice, and we teach folks how to treat one another as human beings, not because of what you have, what you own, or what you possess. It's just who you are.

At 15 years old, I prayed to God that, if he ever give me a brother, I would take care of him for the rest of my life. I was 20 years old when I found out that I had a brother. And when I went to visit my biological father, he introduced me to him.

And, from then on, I decided that I wanted to be a part of his life. My brother is highly challenged. He does not speak. He does not chew. And I told my father that, whatever you need, let me know, and I will help, help you with him.

Later on in years, my biological father passed, and we found his mother a couple of years later in the — on the kitchen floor, aneurysm. So her daughter took her with her to another county and took care of her, and I took my brother with me. That's how I got it. So I took — that's why I took him in.

And it's been lovely ever since. He live better with me than he did with them, because they was ashamed of him. I'm not ashamed of him. I don't go nowhere that he cannot go.

Caregiving, it's a calling. You have to want to help somebody. You have to look beyond yourself, your problems, your disposition in life, and see that you can lend a helping hand.

I'm in my second church, and I have been there for 16 years. If you want to help somebody, you can start with the person next door to you. We're all in this together. This pandemic has brought us together, one way or another. The people that you can help, please help.

Even if it's just taking out their trash to the curb, so the trash man can come by and pick it up, while they can't. It's just simple stuff that you can do. It don't cost nothing, but a little bit of your time.

It ain't what you do for yourself that's going to last. It's what you do for others.

My name is Terrell Scruggs, and this is my Brief But Spectacular take on helping people.

Judy Woodruff:

Thank you, Terrell Scruggs.

And we all need to remember that message.

And you can watch all of our Brief But Spectacular episodes at PBS.org/NewsHour/Brief.