Encouragement

The other day, I received a phone call from from a friend.  Not a text, email or Facebook message, but an actual phone call.  I usually only get phone calls from my wife and my mom.  All of my guy friends tend to text me.  I think that's just a guy thing.  I even have a friend that won;t answer the phone when I call him, but he'll text me 2 seconds after I leave a voicemail.  I digress.

The friend who called me heard through the grape vine that I was going through some tough stuff and decided to call.  Throughout our 20 minute conversation, we caught up on life over the past few months since it had been a while since we last talked.  But the majority of the time, he was encouraging me.

As I think about it now, how often do we spend time encouraging each other?  Why do we only do it during a crisis situation?  I know that I am extremely guilty of this.  I miss those opportunities for genuine encouragement.  I miss the moment to tell a student that they "made a great point" in a conversation.  I miss the opportunity to tell a band member that they did a good job today.  I have really tried to be more encouraging, but it's hard.  Maybe it's just that I'm a guy.

When I was playing sports on a consistant basis many years ago, my coaches always told us to encourage our teammates.  "Good hit" or "Nice pitching" was easy to say.  But now as an adult, it sometimes feels weird.  When a member comes up to you and says, "Nice sermon this morning" I can't help but think..."This morning?  What about all of the other mornings?  Were they not as good as today?"  Why is that the first place I go?  Probably because I haven't received a ton of encouragement.

Now, now, now, don't think I'm begging for compliments...I'm not.  But I bet you, I'm not alone.  So often, I think that ministry workers lack the encouragement that we need.  A simple "Nice job" or even a smile goes a long way.

There was a member in my previous congregation that put a hand written letter in my mailbox one day.  All it said was, "Thank you so much for all that you do."  Wow.  I couldn't believe it.  I never felt more appreciated than I did at that moment.  That simple gesture gave me the fuel for the next few weeks.

"Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body." Psalm 16:24

When's the last time you encouraged someone?  Maybe it's a co-worker.  Maybe it's your spouse.  Maybe it's the volunteers in your church.  Whoever it may be, I hope that you take time to encourage them.  You never know how a simple gesture can change someones life.