We’re almost a month into the new year! Has it seemed that a lot of things just haven’t fallen into place yet? Plans haven’t turned out… your mind seems in a fog… and the more you try to get done, the longer your to-do list seems to get? I’m not an overly emotional guy, but the last couple of weeks have personally been an emotional roller coaster for various reasons.
However, one thing that has really encouraged me has been my teenage daughter, Faith. On four different occasions within the last two weeks, she’s personally and intentionally taken the time to go out of her way to show and speak life into me.
And these instances were not because she knew anything about what I was going through internally. On the contrary, she simply made the choice to speak life into me without even knowing how much I needed it, just because that’s who she is. And I found myself not only encouraged, but refreshed, and feeling loved and appreciated.
It made me think of a few important things:
1. What an amazing daughter God has blessed me with. She truly is my biggest encourager (and I have a feeling I’m not the only one).
2. Speaking life into others isn’t about age or position; it’s about being intentional. You don’t have to be a ‘somebody’ to speak life into others. You just have to be a servant.
3. Unshown kindness is unknown kindness. How often may other people in my life, including my family, need my words of encouragement when I least know it? How many good thoughts go unspoken that could have changed someone’s day or even someone’s life? They may be struggling with an internal battle that I never know about, but God can use my words or actions to speak life into them at just the right moment as I’m sensitive to his leading.
A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver. Proverbs 25:11
So here’s one of my goals for the new year. When it comes to encouragement or positive thoughts that come to my mind towards others, I want to follow this motto…
“IF I THINK IT, SAY IT!”
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When I’m at work and I have a thought about how awesome my wife is (which is pretty often)… I text her what I’m thinking.
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When I am reminded of how thankful I am for a ministry volunteer, I shoot them a message or write them a note.
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When I notice someone in my family showing unexpected kindness or initiative, I go out of my way praise them for it.
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And even when the cashier at Walmart royally messes up my order (yes, it happened this week), I can still thank her for her smile and patience, offering a kind word of encouragement.
