So encourage each other and build each other up.
1 Thessalonians 5:11
Today is the National Day of Encouragement and as a country, if ever we needed to be encouraged, that time is now! Between all the political dissonance, rage, violence, looting, wildfires, and a pandemic that has disrupted lives and transformed everything we have ever loved about our freedom, we are feeling frightened, angry, and very very empty. Most of us are counting the days until the end of this horrendous year, and 2021 cannot come soon enough. Perhaps what everyone needs right about now is a whole lot more love and encouragement, and as believers, we should all be leading the way in doing just that.
Here is a list of ideas to encourage someone. Pick one, pick two, or do every single one today or sometime over the next week. We all need a little more light in the world, so get out there and be one!
Text an encouraging note to someone and send a Bible verse from God’s own heart. Bake someone cookies, because cookies make everything better. Compliment a stranger at the grocery store. Pay for the person’s coffee or meal that is behind you in the drive thru. Send a thank you note to someone in your life who is your cheerleader, your encourager, and then be that person to someone else. Offer to babysit for free so the parents who are now working from home, homeschooling, and rarely get breaks can have a date night and enjoy some peace. Show up to clean someone’s house for free. Invite someone who’s been struggling with loneliness for a backyard, socially-distant BBQ (If you’re in the NW, only after the air quality drastically improves!). Offer to walk someone’s dog(s). Leave flowers or a plant and a ‘thinking of you’ card on the front porch of someone who has had a rough week. Tell a family member how much they are loved and what they mean to you. And remove your mask long enough to smile at someone today, because we are not meant to hide the one expression that people so desperately need to see every day. Happy National Day of Encouragement! Go BE an encourager! You are loved!
Anxious hearts are very heavy, but a word of encouragement does wonders! Proverbs 12:25 (TLB)