A Little Push . . .

It has always amazed me here how much a little encouragement can do for someone. Now don't get me wrong, I know that is the case all over the world. However, for people who may not necessarily always hear encouragement, I find such empowerment in it.

Today I was working along side "Hope" who was suspended from school for a certain incident. I knew scrubbing the walls of a nasty old house was not at all what she had in mind when I asked her if she would be interested in helping me work on a house for our summer staff. Quite honestly, I was shocked that Hope agreed to help when I asked. I knew this would be a challenge though for her, because 1) she doesn't like to get dirty and 2) she's never done anything like this before. She complained for the first 3 walls out of 4. The truth of the matter is that she didn't know what she was capable of doing. "We're never going to finish this. My back hurts. I want to quit. I'm not doing this anymore. I'm leaving. I'm never saying yes to anything else again." To each statement she voiced, I came back with encouragement. "Hope, you're doing such a good job. Look at the difference you are making. I am so proud of you. You're doing great. Almost finished. I AM SO PROUD OF YOU." I just don't know if Hope hears that enough.

By the third wall, Hope realized what she had done. There was pride. There was joy. There was empowerment. For a job so little, I learned that encouragement to Hope was everything. In the midst of scrubbing and more scrubbing I told Hope, "I know I tell you this all the time, but Jesus loves you. He really, really does. Do you know that?" "Yes, I do know that Steph." My prayer is that Hope will one day come into the presence of and join in a life with the Almighty Encourager. He hears our cries.

Love Deeply.