en cour age
tr.v. en·cour·aged, en·cour·ag·ing, en·cour·ag·es
1. To inspire with hope, courage, or confidence; hearten.
2. To give support to; foster
3. To stimulate; spur
My incredible friend, Gini, is also doing 31 Days of ... but she chose to do 31 Days of Encouragement and I am a little bit jealous because that is a. such a great idea and great challenge and b. so who she is!! So I am gonna try to be inspired by her creativity and thoughtfulness in my quest to be brave.
So, today ... I am going to be brave by encouraging ... helping others be brave in their lives as well! I know over the past few months, I would not have made it without the days Callie has let me sit on her couch and cry, without unexpected snatches of phone convos with Gini, and Laura and Dutch, without sweet emails and FB messages from Katie and Emily and Becca and all of the amazing friends who have loved me well through life!
I know, too, that we find courage and strength as we help others do the same. On my down-est days, I can turn it around by loving on someone, encouraging someone, or serving someone. Such a great cure for the blues! We were not made to live this life alone and we never know what a difference something little can make in someone else's life.
I was reminded of this last week when my Mom called to tell me that they had finished up their series on Heroes last Sunday at church. And their pastor, Jeff, completed it with a video featuring staff members who had grown up at Geyer Springs sharing about someone who was one of their heroes. Kim Bailey, one of the girls who came up behind me in the youth ministry is now on staff in the youth ministry there and she recounted the story of her hero who was her 7th grade Sunday School teacher. She came to see her when Kim had chicken pox, ringing the door bell, leaving some treats, and retreating down the driveway to wave because she had not had the chicken pox. My mom was in tears when she said, Karen, you were her hero! That seemed such a no-brainer to me. She was one of my girls and she was sick. Of course I would go "see" her ... it was something I can barely remember, but it made a huge difference to her.
And that video came at just the right time to encourage my heart in ways Kim would never have imagined in a season when I needed to know in a fresh way that those little things can make a big difference. SO, I am gonna spend the rest of the afternoon sending some long overdue thank you's, some random (and not so random acts of kindness) and being brave by being willing to infuse a little love, courage, and hope into someone else. Thanks, Gini for challenging me to be more like Christ!
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,
because you, [sister], have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people. Phil. 1:7
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