Last Sunday I sent a text message during church.
Don’t judge. My pastor Pete told me to.
You see, we are in the middle of this series called Now or Never, where we are talking about living a life filled with intention, relationships, love, faith, and joy. Pete has been pushing us to think about what we’d do if we had a week left to live and to do those things now. To have those conversations now. To not wait.
As an illustration, our pastor had our congregation pull out our phones and send a text message to a friend, a family member, anyone that we felt lead to reach out to.
As I thought of the people in my life, an old college friend popped in my mind.
I texted her this:
Just wanted to send you a little text this morning to tell you how much your friendship means to me. Your encouragement, laugh, and ability to truly listen is such a gift. Though we don’t talk often, when we do I leave feeling filled up. You truly are one of the greatest blessings of my college experience. Love you.
She responded:
These words hit to the depth of my heart! Thanks so much, Jess, for taking the time to say this. Means the world.
A few days later, I called her on my way home from work. Toward the end of the conversation she said, “By the way, thanks for that text. I don’t know what prompted it, but it meant a lot to me. I read it to my whole family and said stay-at-home moms never hear this stuff!”
Her words made me think about who else in my life needs a word of encouragement.
Who else needs to hear something they never hear? Who else simply needs a kind word?
As it says in Proverbs 16:24,
“Kind words are like honey sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.”
Every Friday we have a family movie night. While snuggling with kiddos around me, I plan to write cards to 10 friends to let them know that they matter to me — and how they have impacted my story. Like the text, my messages won’t be long, but they will be heartfelt. My prayer is that when they reach my friends’ mailboxes, that the simple card will be like honey to the souls.
Might I encourage you to reach out to your own loved ones?
And if card writing isn’t your thing, consider sending a simple text. The vehicle for the message isn’t as important as the act of speaking truth and love into someone’s life.
We all have people in our lives who we love, but who maybe need that reminder.
Let’s use our words well.
To help you do that, DaySpring is giving away a bundle of greeting cards featuring encouragement from The Fringe Hours, Holley Gerth, Karen Kingsbury, and more! Simply follow the giveaway widget below (email subscribers may need to click through to the blog) to enter.
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