Simple and thoughtful messages that mean so much <3

Our village is in the process of putting a fresh coat of paint on all the fire hydrants. It was definitely needed and, to me, a delightful choice of color. The old ones were extremely faded, but you could tell they had originally been white and green. 

I think.

When I say extremely faded, I mean it. 

So these new black and red ones caught my eye immediately. I love them. They look kind of snappy lining the streets as I walk. They are easy to spot – I never realized how well populated we are in this area with hydrants. 

They match the stop signs and the occasional fire truck that passes through and have added much to this already lovely area we call home. 

So I took a minute one day to send a message to the village administrator, who does a fabulous job at making this a great community. I told her I loved the new hydrant paint so much. I said that they are very sharp and add a lot of character to our area. She responded with a big thank you and said there had been a few who were not so pleased. 

I was glad I had taken the time to honor the Holy Spirit prompt to send a note of encouragement. I don’t always do that. 

Recently I was going through some papers stacked my little corner of the world in our living room. I came across a note I had read several times last year that always lifted my spirits when I was ready to throw in the towel on my impromptu substitute teaching season. 

A friend and fellow sister-in-Christ who happens to read this stuff I type took the time to send me a real live letter in the mail. In it she encouraged me to not be discouraged as I attempted to teach English to three classes of kids who missed their original teacher and were not as thrilled with grammar and literature as I am. 

She said in the note that she was sure I was teaching more than English with my life and heart being poured into them and that seeds were being sown even if it didn’t feel like it. Or something to that effect. I don’t want to quote her specifically because her words were for my eyes only. 

But the gist of the message was that what I was doing had eternal value because of who I am and because she knew I was asking God to work through me. 

Her words brought tears to my eyes on the first reading and every time I would pick it up as the school year progressed and again this week when I read them again. Because they were thoughtful and she took the time to let me know what she saw that was good. 

So today, I want to encourage you that your words of encouragement to others matter. We have texts, emails, messages on social media, actual words in real time and letters we can send. 

If the Spirit lays on your heart to encourage someone, do not let your own thinking or the enemy persuade you that your words don’t matter. 

They matter much.

Now and for eternity <3