Sometimes I go through life just wishing I could help, be a good encourager, but I just don’t really know where to begin.
It really didn’t soak in on how people in my family felt about me until one day I was invited to go on a women’s retreat, not knowing what was going to be going on up there. That weekend I had heard some awesome and sad stories that the other Christian sisters had shared with all of us. Just listening to all of their stories and how God gave them and their families the encouragement to handle what was put in front of them, made me know that everything that I am going through is just a drop of water in the bucket. And if they can still call out His name and have faith that He will still be there to help encourage them, then I, too, can call on Him for some encouragement. That night before the retreat was over the counselors had us go into the dining room where there were no lights on except for two red lights that were shining down onto a cross with a purple cloth around the base of it. We all found at our tables three black pieces of paper. There was a lady from the back that said the reason that the papers were black was to hide what our sins were from one another, because no one needs to know what my sins were except myself and God. And then we were to write down what our sins were. When we got all finished writing down everything we were to all told to go line up behind one another. There we were given a hammer and a nail. The reason for the hammer and the nail was because we were to hammer our sins up on to the cross and give them up to Him.
As it got to be my turn to nail the papers, it was so hard for me. Because I was not only hammering up so many pieces of paper, but I was also putting myself in the shoes of the soldier that put those nails into our Savior. Do you really understand how hard it was for me to take that hammer and nail and to hit the cross until the paper was stuck up there?
Just when I thought it was all over with the ladies from the back asked us if we would have a seat at the tables once more. There they had a stack of letters for each one of us. As I started to open them up one by one, one of them I had picked up and started to read was from my son. It read,
You are my favorite mom because
1. You are nice
2. You read me stories
3. You let me stay up late
4. You always comfort me
5. You love and care for me.
And if that wasn’t encouragement enough, I found one of them from my brother. He just tells how he was really glad that he had a chance to grow up with me. He also said that the thing he liked about me the most was that with me being so strong in Christ, I have taught my son about the greatest Dad that we serve.
I just then realized that I am encouraging the ones around me. Not by what I say but by how I live my life everyday.
It really didn’t soak in on how people in my family felt about me until one day I was invited to go on a women’s retreat, not knowing what was going to be going on up there. That weekend I had heard some awesome and sad stories that the other Christian sisters had shared with all of us. Just listening to all of their stories and how God gave them and their families the encouragement to handle what was put in front of them, made me know that everything that I am going through is just a drop of water in the bucket. And if they can still call out His name and have faith that He will still be there to help encourage them, then I, too, can call on Him for some encouragement. That night before the retreat was over the counselors had us go into the dining room where there were no lights on except for two red lights that were shining down onto a cross with a purple cloth around the base of it. We all found at our tables three black pieces of paper. There was a lady from the back that said the reason that the papers were black was to hide what our sins were from one another, because no one needs to know what my sins were except myself and God. And then we were to write down what our sins were. When we got all finished writing down everything we were to all told to go line up behind one another. There we were given a hammer and a nail. The reason for the hammer and the nail was because we were to hammer our sins up on to the cross and give them up to Him.
As it got to be my turn to nail the papers, it was so hard for me. Because I was not only hammering up so many pieces of paper, but I was also putting myself in the shoes of the soldier that put those nails into our Savior. Do you really understand how hard it was for me to take that hammer and nail and to hit the cross until the paper was stuck up there?
Just when I thought it was all over with the ladies from the back asked us if we would have a seat at the tables once more. There they had a stack of letters for each one of us. As I started to open them up one by one, one of them I had picked up and started to read was from my son. It read,
You are my favorite mom because
1. You are nice
2. You read me stories
3. You let me stay up late
4. You always comfort me
5. You love and care for me.
And if that wasn’t encouragement enough, I found one of them from my brother. He just tells how he was really glad that he had a chance to grow up with me. He also said that the thing he liked about me the most was that with me being so strong in Christ, I have taught my son about the greatest Dad that we serve.
I just then realized that I am encouraging the ones around me. Not by what I say but by how I live my life everyday.
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