“That Their Hearts May Be Encouraged”

I do quite a bit of traveling. I’m not afraid to drive; in fact, I rather like it. I enjoy learning where roads lead. My keen sense of direction always comes in handy. I don’t think I’ve ever been lost. I may have taken a wrong turn once or twice, and I’ve seen cool things that way, but I’ve never been completely lost. (That’s how I found the Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise, for example.)

The layout of different downtown areas particularly fascinates me. For example, downtown Tuscaloosa is surprisingly easy to navigate. Birmingham, Atlanta, New Orleans…I’ve driven through them all. You want to know the most confusing downtown area? Montgomery. Our one-way streets are pretty confusing if you don’t spend much time downtown. They aren’t laid out in a way that makes sense (IE Birmingham’s numerical system). You really do have to pay attention so you don’t wind up lost, or with a ticket, or on your way to Prattville.

Figuratively speaking, life itself is made up of very few one-way streets. What surprises me the most about being in the church is the number of times I’ve heard of people leaving (for other congregations or leaving altogether, even) because of a lack of encouragement. I have a really hard time understanding this, and it hurts my feelings sometimes to learn that someone has left for this reason.

Encouragement is definitely a two-way street. I’m convinced that you are encouraged by being encouraging to others. If somebody prefers to sit around waiting to be encouraged by someone else, it reminds me of the movie Pollyanna. Pollyanna Whittier finds herself in what is, quite possibly, the most depressing town ever imagined. Rather than be beaten down by the indifferent attitudes of the townsfolk, Pollyanna uses the Glad Game to spread joy to the lives of others. After Pollyanna’s accident, she is then encouraged by the now-happy town.

It sounds a little simplistic, maybe, but it’s true: doing good makes you feel good. After all, we are commanded to treat others the way we ourselves would want to be treated, are we not? Let us all – the next time we feel discouraged – find someone else we think needs encouraging. In those few moments of caring for another person, we will suddenly forget how we felt, and in doing so, we will have made a difference.