Have you ever received a note or card from someone that made you smile ear to ear? The note so encouraged you that you would not dare relegate it to the trash can? I have a box in my attic of such notes. I am not sure why I am saving them~certainly my children will not want them when I'm dead and gone. I haven't looked through them or reread them in years, so what makes me hang on to them? I have always loved writing people notes. Probably because I love getting them from others. In a day and age of email and e-cards the only snail mail we receive most days is bills, junk mail and catalogs. Is that what makes a handwritten note in the mailbox so special?
Not too long ago I ran into a woman from our church and we started chatting. During our conversation she told me she still had a note of encouragement I had written her several years ago. What would make her keep a note for all these years and remember what I wrote in it to her? I wonder if written notes say 'your special' in a unique way? In February my dad passed away. In preparing for his memorial service I asked our girls what one of their favorite memories was of Pop. Shoshanah told us it was that Pop always sent her notes in the mail with several sticks of gum. Notes~in the mail~with sticks of gum. It was an 'aha' moment for me. Shoshanah loved getting those notes in the mail. She knew when the mail came, in addition to the adult junk mail, there just might be something in that stack for her. She loved when I sorted through the mail, pulled out an envelope, handed it to her and said, “this one is for YOU!” It communicated to her that she was special. Notes people write us make us feel special. And even if we don't read them over and over again we know they are tucked away somewhere safe just as they are tucked away in the memories of our heart.
The book of Acts is full of stories of believers who encourage each other (Acts 14:22; 15:31-32) and this model of encouragement is commanded of believers in I Thessalonians 5: 11, 14 and Hebrews 10:25. So what are you going to do today? Is there someone in your life you need to write a note of encouragement to? Take a moment right now. Grab a piece of paper, spring for a stamp, and jot down a quick note to someone that will make them grin from ear to ear.
Not too long ago I ran into a woman from our church and we started chatting. During our conversation she told me she still had a note of encouragement I had written her several years ago. What would make her keep a note for all these years and remember what I wrote in it to her? I wonder if written notes say 'your special' in a unique way? In February my dad passed away. In preparing for his memorial service I asked our girls what one of their favorite memories was of Pop. Shoshanah told us it was that Pop always sent her notes in the mail with several sticks of gum. Notes~in the mail~with sticks of gum. It was an 'aha' moment for me. Shoshanah loved getting those notes in the mail. She knew when the mail came, in addition to the adult junk mail, there just might be something in that stack for her. She loved when I sorted through the mail, pulled out an envelope, handed it to her and said, “this one is for YOU!” It communicated to her that she was special. Notes people write us make us feel special. And even if we don't read them over and over again we know they are tucked away somewhere safe just as they are tucked away in the memories of our heart.
The book of Acts is full of stories of believers who encourage each other (Acts 14:22; 15:31-32) and this model of encouragement is commanded of believers in I Thessalonians 5: 11, 14 and Hebrews 10:25. So what are you going to do today? Is there someone in your life you need to write a note of encouragement to? Take a moment right now. Grab a piece of paper, spring for a stamp, and jot down a quick note to someone that will make them grin from ear to ear.
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