Be The Spark!
I’ve been doing research on this project I’m calling Be A Barnabas. You’ll hear more about it in the coming weeks.
I’ve reached out to friends and subscribers (who I hope consider me a friend by now!) and asked: 1) who was an encourager to you and what did they do to encourage you? 2) in what ways do you encourage others?
I’ve received story after story and they’re all so touching and heartfelt.
The stories are all different and the encouragers range from family members, childhood Sunday School teachers, a supportive wife or husband, a friend who was a real-life version of Jesus to us in times of struggle and on and on.
The way they encouraged was different in so many ways, but there were some trends as well.
The most obvious theme was that we never forget our encouragers. When people talk about the encouragers in their lives, there is a reverence about the way that they view that person. They will never forget what that person did for them or said to them at a pivotal point in their life.
Some responses I’ve heard from others about the encouragers in our lives (I’ve excluded specific names and tried to sum up their comments):
They made me feel seen and valued.
I’ll never forget them reaching out to me in a time of crisis when so many others turned away.
They invested time in me and mentored me and made themselves available to me.
They were there for me at important events in my life or reached out to congratulate me over an accomplishment when they didn’t need to.
My spouse has always supported and encouraged me, in times where it was deserved and in times where it wasn’t
They included me when others turned away
They challenged me to keep working at my craft and if I did I could be good at it.
They challenged me to find the answers in God’s Word for myself.
They were there for me after the loss of a spouse when I needed a shoulder to cry on and promised me that I would get through it if I didn’t give up.
There are so many other things I could share but the stories go on and on.
Basically, the encouragers in our lives: are our biggest cheerleaders, believe in us when others don’t, invest in us, include us, challenge us to keep working at it, are available to us when others aren’t and are there for us in our most difficult hours.
It’s not easy being an encourager because it takes going the extra mile, but it makes all the difference in the world in that person’s life.
One of the biggest trends I noticed is that when someone was deeply impacted by an encourager, the person who was impacted spent the rest of their lives trying to do the same for others. In other words, they were so moved by what someone had done for them that they wanted to Pay It Forward to others.
So encouragement is contagious. Last week, I asked, “Can we start a movement?”
The answer is 100% absolutely yes. It just starts with each of us deciding in our hearts to be encouragers to the people in our circle of influence.
When I was a kid singing in children’s choir a million years ago, they had these old Celebration song books, and there was one song that sounds a little cheesy now but we loved to sing it back then and it said, “it only takes a spark to get a fire going.”
I’m asking you today. Be the spark!