Encouragment

....Today it was my turn to record messages for the radio devotions....Here is a preview.

In our congregations we talk a lot about faith practices….Faith practices for us come out of the promises that are made by parents, sponsors, and the congregation to God as we come to the baptismal font.

These practices are prayer, study, worship, invite, give, encourage, and serve. All of these things, through the grace of God, have helped me and many others, to grow in faith, have the courage to follow, and answer the call to serve.

All of the faith practices are important and it is hard to choose just one to talk about…..but today I choose to talk about “Encouragement”. That might be one that we might not think about as being a faith practice….but it is.

There are two parts to encouragement….the first part is to give it….the second part is when you receive it yourself….

You never know what is going on in someone’s life. You don’t know what they have been through or what they are facing….unless you take the time to ask.

You don’t know what a difference you will make when you say something as simple as hello, or thank you to someone, especially when they are having a bad day…..

Just after Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, a committed group of people from Iowa decided to go to Biloxi, Mississippi to help in the clean up efforts. They were happy to help, even though many of the residents had been evacuated.

The group received their assignments and were sent out into the the destroyed city. They had difficulty finding the location of where they were to clean up….but they eventually found it. And set to work cleaning off the cement pad that once was someone’s home and back yard. They stopped their work to eat lunch ….As they were finished their lunch, an elderly couple drove up….The group introduced themselves to the couple and they told them they were from the recovery group and this property was assigned to them to clean up….so there they were. They went back to work, they moved the branches and debris to the curb, swept the cement pad that once was a house. As they started packing up to leave, the couple was in tears….they expressed their gratitude by saying thank you over and over, and that they never would be able to repay the group for all the help they had been given that day….they said that there were no words to express their deep feelings…

…..and then they confessed, that that day they had lost all hope, they felt that no one cared and help was never coming…..they said that it meant so much that this group from Iowa cared enough to come, to encourage them, and to show them God’s love. Because earlier that day, they had decided to go to, what was left of their house…..one last time. They had planned to commit suicide. And that group from Iowa changed their plans.

You can imagine how the group reacted….overwhelmed that such a simple thing as cleaning a yard could make such a dramatic difference in someone’s life…..

But that was not the only amazing thing that happened that day. God was there….I believe God sent that team to that location that day….

Because the rest of the story is: When the team returned to the home base for supper and debriefing for that evening, eager to tell of their encounter with that elderly couple……., they were met at the door by the volunteer leaders who said they were so glad to see them and where had they been all day? Why did they not go to the address they were given?

…..Come to find out that the team from Iowa had gone to the wrong location that day…..

God is at work, every day and every where!…encouragement makes a difference. Who can you encourage today?

This is us with the house we built in a week during a Jimmy and Roslin Carter Bltiz Build in Diamond Head MS. If you look closely you will notice that that really is former president Carter standing with us....Top 10 experiences of my life!