In all the years of my life I can't seem to remember ever having been so glad to see the holidays come and go. The sad part is that I didn't do nearly half the baking, cooking, decorating and general celebrating as normal. Ironically though, my kids thought the holiday was awesome.
As I've reflected over the last several months I realize that I missed a lot of church. I really like the people I go to Sunday School with and I adore my Sunday School teacher's. They were so kind while I was sick. I felt guilty about missing so much but I think they were probably glad I didn't show up and spread my plethora of germs.
They brought food and sent cards. They knew that with my husband working 800 miles away I was in dire need of help. Those meals meant so much more to me than I could ever put into words. The cards were like gold. I kept them lined up on the coffee table in front of the couch, which was my constant perch. Those cards were encouragement.
Encouragement is one of those words that just hearing has a way of giving a tiny little boost to the psyche. Encouragement is not something that many of us see or give on a daily basis. I'm not talking about encouraging your kids to do their chores. I am talking about the kind of encouragement that brings a true smile to someone's heart, or makes them feel a bit more special and cared about.
Believe it or not, it doesn't take much to give another person a shot of encouragement that feels like a shot of adrenalin. It can be something as simple as a short note left somewhere that says "I prayed for you today." It can be a card in the mail. It can be a voice mail message that says "I was thinking of you." The very small, takes only a minute or two, kinds of things that can make another human being feel valued.
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