Encouragement

This past Sunday’s readings seemed to be all about fear – quite appropriate for today’s dramas, which I know very little about, but enough to know, I don’t want to know any more about them. I always enjoy hearing the story of the five talents. (Matthew 25:14-30) It’s very convicting. How many times have I buried my talents, out of fear of knowing what the Master expects me to do? It’s easier, isn’t it, to maintain status quo, rather than step out in faith and change the world. But Jesus was all about changing the status quo, breaking down boundaries, helping others do the impossible – because all things are possible with Him. (Matthew 19:26)

We don’t realize the power we have, walking this life with Jesus, Master of the Universe. Sometimes I wonder if He really cares about my little worries and burdens. But then, isn’t He the one that fearfully and wonderfully made me (Psalm 139:14), and knows every hair on my head (Luke 12:7)? We were not made to live with a spirit of fear, but one of power (2 Timothy 1:7), power through the blood of Christ. Jesus continually encourages us to step out in faith, so we can set the world ablaze with His love! (Luke 12:49)

After Mass, I was contemplating fear and its antithesis, courage. The root of courage is the Latin word cor, meaning heart. It takes our very core, or heart, to be courageous. I think of firefighters and martyrs when I ponder courage. But there is also everyday courage – disciplining my children, having a difficult conversation, letting down my guard and just being myself – this is the courage that I need regularly, which unfortunately, I don’t always have.

My next thought was the word encourage. Its meaning doesn’t seem to have anything to do with courage. To encourage is to support, give hope, or develop – in Latin, ‘in the heart’. It takes great courage to encourage, especially when there are so many discouraging things around us. In a sense, it is a battle against the forces of darkness, which only want to drag down, fill with despair, and destroy. There are certainly many opportunities in my own home to enter into the battle to encourage. The world needs more encouragement, and it starts at home.

I have been a dismal example of encouragement, which is why I’m restarting this blog. Jesus has given me ample opportunities to encourage, with 11 children and an overworked husband, and I’ve basically wasted the last 20 years, living in fear and self-centeredness. But that ends today.

God has given me a large circle of impact, but how have I impacted it? Yes, it’s important to love in practical ways – cleaning, cooking, educating – but what about the heart? That’s where this blog comes in – to hold myself accountable to multiply the talents God has given me, not bury them, not succumb to the negativity that pervades the world.

St. Teresa of Calcutta knew what encouragement was. She lived it, breathed it, everyday, ministering to the dying, impoverished, and unloved people of India and the world. One of her favorite sayings was, “Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” Her smile spread Christ’s love, straight from His Sacred Heart. So I’m going to smile more. Smile at my children, my husband, the cashier, the mom hauling her screaming toddler out of Mass. They all need encouragement, because they all need to know God’s love more. There isn’t a single person who doesn’t need it. So why not start today, in your own home, with a simple smile, to spread the love of Christ and dispel the darkness, to encourage?