Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Soon after, I read this story:
A group of frogs were traveling through the woods, and two of them fell into a deep pit. When the other frogs saw how deep the pit was, they told the two frogs that they were as good as dead. The two frogs ignored the comments and tried to jump up out of the pit with all their might. The other frogs kept telling them to stop, that they were as good as dead. Finally, one of the frogs took heed to what the other frogs were saying and gave up. He fell down and died.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was hard of hearing. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
The other frog continued to jump as hard as he could. Once again, the crowd of frogs yelled at him to stop the pain and just die. He jumped even harder and finally made it out. When he got out, the other frogs said, "Did you not hear us?" The frog explained to them that he was hard of hearing. He thought they were encouraging him the entire time.
This story teaches two lessons:
1. There is power of life and death is in the tongue. An encouraging word to someone who is down can lift them up and help them make it through the day.
2. A destructive word to someone who is down can be what it takes to destroy them.
Be careful what you say. Speak life to those who cross your path. The power of words... it is sometimes hard to understand that an encouraging word can go such a long way. Anyone can speak words that tend to rob another of the spirit to continue in difficult times. Special is the individual who will take the time to encourage another.
... The Mapleton tornado tragedy was just miles from my home, so though I am far away I have been keeping up with news updates on recovery and relief.
I have to say, I am amazed.
People from all over the state - by the hundreds are showing up at Mapleton to pitch in and help with clean up. Most people, though they lost their homes, some lost everything, are saying they are blessed.
They are blessed because God is providing. People are providing. God's Word is encouraging and people are encouraging. Strangers are showing love to those who lost so much in the tornado disaster.
As I have said time and time again, I feel blessed to be a blessing. To be able to build up people. Show Christ's love to them. Sometimes I wonder if I am giving enough to others. I mean, getting well from this illness takes so much work and concentration on myself that I often feel selfish that I can't give more to others.
You know, within the last few weeks, every night, I post an encouraging Bible verse or quote about faith and God on Facebook. There's so much complaining and negativity, that I was hoping to shine a little light into the darkness of the news feeds. Someone messaged me today and said they really appreciated me sharing my strength on Facebook. I guess that is a blessing in itself. I will keep doing it.
I'm not really sure that the above compilation of text has a theme- the moral of the story is, be a frog that is a blessing and encourager, not a frog that is a discourager and always bringing people down. If you see someone without a smile, give them yours. =)
Positives!
-Chocolate Chip Muffins for breakfast (seems small, but it is a blessing because they are my favorites! and it was a great way to start my day!)
-Very productive Therapy session
-Dinner tonight with a great friend and much laughter
-Getting things accomplished!
-Time to relax and pray
Today was pretty uneventful, but I just wanted to remind myself that I am indeed blessed. And striving to be a blessing to others- an encouraging frog. ;)
I think you are an encouraging frog :)
ReplyDeleteIn terms of whether you're doing enough, I think that probably, none of us ever do enough. Ever. But you do a lot and you are conscious of what you're doing and what it's right to be doing. And I think that's great and no-one could ask for more than that. You DO build people up and show Jesus' love. I've seen here, and that story about Facebook shows it too. And I'm sure it can be seen in countless other ways in your life.
I agree so much about the power of words. I think if there's one thing everyone needs to know (apart from the love of Jesus!), it's the impact just a few words can have. Can you IMAGINE if the whole world lived by that?!?! It would be mind-blowingly awesome!!!!!!!!!
PS - Tornado?? Was this a big thing??? It hasn't made it onto the BBC news homepage over here =/
ReplyDeleteThank YOU for being an encouraging frog by your posts! :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, the tornado was a big thing. probably didn't make headlines there because, miraculously, there were no deaths, but the town of Mapleton was nearly demolished. It was only miles away from hitting my hometown.
That is such good news that there were no deaths. It's crazy that it hasn't made the news here at all though - I've just been through the BBC news website including specific 'world' and then 'US & Canada' pages, but there's no mention of it. Catherine Zeta Jones being treated for bipolar, that's newsworthy, but no, not a tornado...
ReplyDeletehttp://www.siouxcityjournal.com/news/local/article_6f622336-630d-11e0-96fe-001cc4c03286.html
ReplyDeleteThere's a brief look at what happened if you're still interested!
Oh wow.. amazing that no-one was more seriously hurt!! What happens to a tornado before & after it's in one place? Did it come out of nowhere and then disappear?!
ReplyDeletePS - sioux city? Are you indians??
Yeah, they pretty much just develop in the sky, grow, and then wind back down again. They come out of thunderstorm systems, and are often predictable by weathermen, but it's hard to say exactly where in the system they'll develop, how far they are capable of going without dying out. It's scary this time of year, but God's Hand is protecting us.
ReplyDeleteHaha, nope, not indians. Sioux City is farther away from my hometown, and it was named after the Sioux, and there is a reservation nearby, but we're not indians, no.
I started off slightly confused when I read that comment in my email inbox, because the title "Frogs and Blessings" was just above what you wrote, and I thought "they pretty much just develop on the sky, grow, and then wind back down again" was a reference to frogs. Oops, more sleep needed here, I think.
ReplyDeleteI also didn't really expect you to be indians. It was probably a joke with a slight edge of "Wow, do I have a friend who's an indian? Awesome!" I feel so let down :P