It's The Little Things That Can Make The Biggest Difference

Pleasant words are a honeycomb: sweet to the taste and health to the body.

Proverbs 16:24

Who doesn't appreciate an encouraging word? 

That's what I thought.

The problem is I'm socially challenged when it comes to accepting compliments. It goes something like this:

Nice Person: I like your hair.

Me: Oh, uh, *snort*. Yeah, I grew it myself. Um. Thank...you...

OR

Nice Person: I liked your blog post about________.

Me: Thanks.

Cue crickets chirping as Nice Person realizes I'm much funnier on paper.*

I'm not an easy person to encourage, and yet people persist in doing so. Every day someone takes the time to cheer me on, and bring a smile to my face. This forced me to consider, how often I intend to do likewise for others, but never quite get around to it. I make time for all sorts of shenanigans, but writing a quick note to a friend, or calling up someone just to say they were on my heart rarely makes the top of the list. 

I'm issuing a challenge to myself and hope you'll join me. Let's see if we can't manage to encourage at least one person every day. I'm not talking about telling your kid their art project looks nice. I'm talking about reaching out to someone whom God is prompting you to encourage. It might be someone you haven't spoken with in years. It might be awkward (it will be if they receive compliments like I do). It might not result in a Hallmark moment. But that's OK, because:

A word spoken at the right time is like gold apples on a silver tray.

Proverbs 25:11

Our pastor reminds us regularly that "It's always the right time to love", which means it's always the right time for an encouraging word.

Be A Blessing,

Cynthia

*It's true people. The jokes come a lot slower in person. Sorry to disappoint.