Monday, December 6, 2010

"Encourage me, and I will not forget you"

The title comes from a longer quote by William Arthur Ward: "Flatter me, and I may not believe you. Criticize me, and I may not like you. Ignore me, and I may not forgive you. Encourage me, and I will not forget you. Love me and I may be forced to love you.”

I love that quote.  Encouragement truly nourishes the soul, so much so that it's unforgettable.  It's so important that God (by way of Paul) tells us to "encourage one another and build each other up" (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  We all need encouragement.  Some of us just need it more than others.

I'm one of those people who needs a lot of encouragement.  Throughout most of my life, I've struggled with my self-esteem.  It comes from a lot of factors, and I feel like a yo-yo sometimes.  I have times where I feel really good about myself to the point of being prideful, and then I have other times where I feel like I'm the worst.  Sometimes, and especially recently, I've felt like I have no self-worth or that no one really cares about me.  I know in my head that this isn't true, but I can't seem to get my heart and my feelings to agree.

I had been struggling with these feelings for a while (at least, continuously) when I went to Cru's leadership celebration.  We all got encouragement sheets where people could write down things about us, things they were encouraged by or blessed by or enjoyed about us.  My negativity was so bad that I didn't even think that many people would write on my sheet.

I went about writing stuff to other people, and when I got my sheet back, I was blown away.  Some of the things people wrote included that I was an "awesome leader and beautiful woman of God", that I had an amazing heart,  and that I inspire them to work harder.  One person even said that "you do so much for our movement, it wouldn't be the same without you".  These comments really touched my heart.  Knowing that people care about me and think these things about me helped dispel all the negativity I had been feeling.

So if you're reading this and you're one of the people who wrote something on my paper, thank you.  You have no idea how much it means to me.  I am so blessed to be a part of this wonderful group of people, and I thank God for all the people he has placed in my life!

1 comment:

  1. I wasn't there, but I want you to know that I love and appreciate you more than I know how to express.

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