Sunday, December 20, 2009

I'm so thankful for the encouragers in my life.  And so thankful for good sounding boards.  And for people who will tell me, "No, you are wrong in this, and here's why."  Or, "You are right, that was totally not correct and you were good to question it."  Honesty will take you far in a relationship with me.  But, encouragment is a magnificent thing.  And, an encouragER is simply divine.  When things get me down, when words are twisted, when situations blown out of proportion, when gossips start flapping their poison...sometimes it just takes a hug or a simple word of encouragement to turn it all around and remind me that God is still on the throne, and He still understands.  And He still loves me, and He still understands me.  And most importantly that HE knows the truth and the intent in my heart.  And that no matter how the world spins my words and intent, He is not swayed.  He knows.  And, that needs to be enough.  And, it is. 

5 comments:

  1. Amen.

    Mind if I add some thoughts on your thoughts?

    I have the gift of encouragement. It's taken me a long time to see that what I naturally do is actually a God-given privilege. Trust me, it doesn't always feel like it! There have been times that I have cried to the Lord, "Why me? Why is it always me that ends up comforting, encouraging, listening to all the tears and hurt, and directing them back to You? Why did You make me this way? Couldn't somebody else do it?" And the answer always comes back that He is sovereign, He knew best when making me that way, and that He uses that in me to accomplish His purposes.

    Now, when it's over, I often step back and realize how I was just used by Him to encourage someone...but in the middle of it, let me tell you, it's not always fun... Like spending 20 minutes on the phone at 9:00pm (when I SHOULD be in bed) listening to a friend crying about what a teacher said to her, convincing her not to say something inflammatory back to him, and trying my best to direct her thoughts to the Lord when all her mind was on was her problem. Like seeing a person crying, and literally being unable to walk past them, NEEDING to sit down next to them and put my arms around them. It's not always fun. But it is necessary. And when I am on the receiving end of this, I am always SO grateful for the people who follow His leading and comfort and encourage.

    Sorry to ramble on so, I don't mean to steal your thunder at all, but your words on what it feels like to be encouraged...well, they encourage me to keep encouraging others. Even when I don't feel like it, don't want to. Thanks for that reminder!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I totally don't mind, and I absolutely agree with you! I seem to go back and forth from being the encourager to being the one who needs th encouraging.

    You may not always get to be "there" to see the profound difference you have made in the life of someone you have encouraged..but, when you take time to be Jesus to someone you can have complete faith that the Lord will use it. Everytime. So keep doing what you do!

    Thanks for the words, and for following my blogs. Nice to have someone leave comments! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I totally get what Rebekah said! I'm an encourager and sometimes I find myself crying "when is someone going to encourage MEEE???" haha. I'm glad you found some good encouragement. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for not minding my rambling. I catch myself sometimes going on and on in comments and then I think..."duh, this is why I have my OWN blog, so I don't keep bugging other people with long comments!!" Sorry about that. Thanks for the encouragement to keep encouraging! :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. SO DO I! I can't seem to leave a short comment to save my life. Glad I'm not alone in that!

    ReplyDelete