Encouraged to be an Encourager

As I was going through my emails last week, I noticed one from my high school that was titled, "Blessed to be a Blessing."  I don't usually read the emails that my high school sends out, but the subject of this particular email caught my eye.  We are blessed to be a blessing.  God blesses us, not just so that we can keep it for ourselves, but so that we can turn around and be a blessing to someone else.

This got me thinking about something else...I am encouraged to be an encourager.

Let me explain.

One morning last week, I stood in front of the mirror for about twenty minutes trying to fix my hair, but no matter what I did to it, I felt that it looked like a big, frizzy mess.  I left the house feeling really horrible about myself.  I was prepared to go about my day with that miserable feeling following me around, but all of that changed very quickly. 

When I arrived at work, I was greeted by a smiling young lady who said to me, "Your hair is so cute."  I smiled really big back at her and said, “Thank you so much!"  I walked away just as happy as could be.  Her words changed my day...for the better.

There have been many times in the past where I have wanted to compliment someone, but I ended up holding back my words because I felt like they really didn't matter.  On that day, however, I realized that words - especially positive words - really do matter!  God used that lady to encourage me and lift my spirits, and now it is my responsibility to go out and encourage someone else.  Not only I am blessed to be a blessing, but I am encouraged to be an encourager. 

John C. Maxwell said it best:  "Remember, man does not live on bread alone: sometimes he needs a little buttering up."