God has a Megaphone
Sometimes God puts ideas in my head and just makes me concentrate on them over and over for extended periods of time until I get it. The subject for the current life era? Encouragement. Different events over the past few months have really brought the idea of encouragement to the forefront of my thoughts lately, so much that I feel the need to blog :).
It really all began when one of my classmates, Andre Dickey, passed away suddenly from a heart attack a few weeks ago. I had a class with him called Groups, and in this class we all unveiled personal stories to each other in order to put ourself in the shoes of the client and increase self-awareness (very social worky, I know). So, the last day Andre was in class we went around and told each other how certain individuals had an impact on us personally. Many people picked Andre as their influential person and he was showered with praise for his wisdom and authenticity. When we found out that he had passed away we realized the importance of that last class period he ever attended. It may seem extreme, but people die, and I would never want to regret holding back a compliment or praise for someone when recognizing the good in them. Compliments, especially compliments of character, are so encouraging.
As this idea of encouragement continues to grow and form, God gets creative with me in revealing ways to be encouraging and also my own struggles with speaking about the good in others. My research professor sent me an email telling me he was very impressed with my work in his class all semester and my chemical dependency professor told me she saw such potential in me as a future social worker and was excited to see my future unfold. I've never felt so encouraged on an academic level! A professor recognizing my efforts!.... How Encouraging. Their words literally made me want to be the best social worker this world has ever seen. To put the cherry on top I receive the most complimentary and heart-warming note from my friend Jovanna, and I come home to find an encouraging facebook message from Justin saying how proud he has been of me lately. This happened just tonight. I don't think God could connect things any more in my life for me to grasp what he wants me to see: ENCOURAGE!
I guess I needed this because I recognize how influential words of encouragement are to me, yet I am extremely hesitant to compliment others. I have a weird issue with not wanting to bloat a person's ego or something. I am finally getting it. I hope to act on this newfound conviction to encourage because I now understand how much it can solidify and spur efforts of loving people. And why would I not want to take part in that?
It really all began when one of my classmates, Andre Dickey, passed away suddenly from a heart attack a few weeks ago. I had a class with him called Groups, and in this class we all unveiled personal stories to each other in order to put ourself in the shoes of the client and increase self-awareness (very social worky, I know). So, the last day Andre was in class we went around and told each other how certain individuals had an impact on us personally. Many people picked Andre as their influential person and he was showered with praise for his wisdom and authenticity. When we found out that he had passed away we realized the importance of that last class period he ever attended. It may seem extreme, but people die, and I would never want to regret holding back a compliment or praise for someone when recognizing the good in them. Compliments, especially compliments of character, are so encouraging.
As this idea of encouragement continues to grow and form, God gets creative with me in revealing ways to be encouraging and also my own struggles with speaking about the good in others. My research professor sent me an email telling me he was very impressed with my work in his class all semester and my chemical dependency professor told me she saw such potential in me as a future social worker and was excited to see my future unfold. I've never felt so encouraged on an academic level! A professor recognizing my efforts!.... How Encouraging. Their words literally made me want to be the best social worker this world has ever seen. To put the cherry on top I receive the most complimentary and heart-warming note from my friend Jovanna, and I come home to find an encouraging facebook message from Justin saying how proud he has been of me lately. This happened just tonight. I don't think God could connect things any more in my life for me to grasp what he wants me to see: ENCOURAGE!
I guess I needed this because I recognize how influential words of encouragement are to me, yet I am extremely hesitant to compliment others. I have a weird issue with not wanting to bloat a person's ego or something. I am finally getting it. I hope to act on this newfound conviction to encourage because I now understand how much it can solidify and spur efforts of loving people. And why would I not want to take part in that?
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if any-thing is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things (Philippians 4:8)
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing (1 Thessalonians 5:11)
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