Encourage One Another

You know the feeling...

you go to the mailbox

and there it is...

an envelope with your name on it,

written in someone's hand

and a familiar name in the sender's corner.

You smile and take it to a favorite chair

or a spot on your front porch

or you turn from your task at hand,

 be it tending to your children or the vacuuming.

and you open it.

It is just what you needed.

It's an encouraging word from someone who knows you

well enough to respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit

and takes the time to let you know they care about you,

that you are an important part of their lives

and that you are loved and appreciated.

(Swirl background found on Google)

I do appreciate emails and phone calls and blog comments;

they are all wonderful ways to give and receive encouragement.

But I have a friend who has a knack of sending a note

at just the right time, and it gives me pleasure to hold that note

in my hands and to read it over and over.

I have even put one in our china cabinet so that I see it

whenever I reach to get a dish or a vase, and there it is,

a reminder of that friend and her friendship with me.

This reminder is, for me, also one that urges me to

 pass encouragement on to others.

Since you took the time to read this,

please know that I thank you for your friendship,

and I pray that today you will be encouraged by God's Word,

so that you may in turn be an encouragement to others.

May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself

and God our Father, who loved us

and by His grace gave us eternal encouragement

and good hope, encourage your hearts

and strengthen you in every good deed and word.