Need Some Encouragement?

     I just got back from seeing a precious friend at the hospital. Her daughter is a special child and is very critical in ICU. Please pray for her; her name is Sammi. My friend is Terri and why she is so special to me is that she was my Weightwatchers teacher when I began this new journey almost three years ago. We bonded quickly because she is a pastor’s wife too, kindred hearts I guess. She taught me the principles of eating and exercise, but more importantly, she was my encourager. She saw me when I was mad at the scale and she saw me when I wanted to quit. Yes, she even saw me cry! I made the mistake of comparing myself to the others in my class. I tried to eat perfectly and I never cheated for the first six months. I exercised everyday! However, every week I would get on that scale and it would read a loss of 1.4 pounds. I should have been ecstatic over the consistent weight loss, but I wasn’t. Every week so many of my classmates would confess about cheating and how they totally blew it. They never exercised and yet they would lose 3 or 4 pounds. It didn't seem fair! The harder you work, the more you should loose. Regrettably, it does not always work like that. The older our bodies, the harder it is to burn off those stubborn fat cells. After all, they have been there a long time! Terri was always there to keep me going, to tell me she understood, and to encourage me. I really do not know if I could have endured those first six months without her. Now I have the privilege of passing on to others what she has done for me. I haven’t had her as a leader for 18 months but now I can continue my journey alone because it is now my lifestyle. She held my hand when I was just on a diet to lose weight until it became more; until it could be a part of me and my habit for life.
Do you have a person to be your encourager on your journey to health? We all need one. Occasionally, I still need a little push not return to old habits.
     We also need an encourager for our spiritual journey. At first it is hard. It is way different than our normal fleshly behavior. Sometimes we get mad at our results. Sometimes we want to quit and just go back to the easy way, even if it is the wrong way. Sometimes, we just need a good cry. But we always need someone to love us and encourage us. Someone to tell us that we are doing great and that baby steps are okay. Some people seem to grow faster than others, or understand quicker than others, or not struggle as much. Do not make the mistake of comparing yourself to others. Two children do not learn and grow the same, neither do God’s children. It is okay. All you have to do is make sure you take hold of God’s hand and that is sometimes done by taking hold of the hand of another. Someone who can encourage you until you grow to the point that it becomes your way of life; and even then, can give you a little push to never go back your old self.
     Are you trying to do it all alone? Do you have someone to encourage you? Pray for you? Love on you? Teach you? If not, look for them. God will send them and when He does, take them by the hand as if you were taking God’s hand of love: because you are!

Read the words of Paul:
With each of you we were like a father with his child, holding your hand, whispering encouragement, showing you step-by-step how to live well before God, who called us into his own kingdom, into this delightful life.
1 Thessalonians 2 : 11b-12