Leadership Thought: A Birthday Greeting Two Months Late but just on Time.

Dear Friends,

Yesterday I opened an envelope and inside was a beautiful card from one of the members of our church. It came with an extra touch. The back of envelope was decorated with two flower stickers, and it was sealed with an American Flag. I hurriedly tore open the envelope and inside  was a beautiful card that read “Happy Birthday for a Special Pastor." 

Now it didn’t matter to me that it was dated May 11, a little over two months from my March birthday. I chuckled because by her own admission she is a bit of a procrastinator, but who cares  about birthday postmarks when the card is filled with  kind and wonderful expressions of love. At my age I’ll take whatever I can get.

The writer always brings joy to my heart. I first met her ten years ago during my first interim ministry here at New Monmouth  when I showed up at her bedside a few minutes before her cancer surgery. It was a short meeting as I recall, but in the brief time we had we seemed to bond. I prayed with her, probably gave her a kiss (no social distancing issues then), and yet those few minutes commenced the beginning of a lasting friendship.

Inside the card my  friend had written a lengthy expression of her love, and in her closing comments she wrote “ The fact that you didn’t know me and showed up at the foot of my bed was PRICELESS (she spelled it out in capitals) to me. You’ll always be special in my heart of hearts. May God keep you safe in the palm of his hand.”

A few minutes of my time spent in a hospital pre surgery room with a woman I didn’t know turned into one of my most treasured friendships.

It didn’t take much of my  time to stop by Monmouth Medical Center. I probably was with my friend for no more than ten or fifteen minutes, and yet in that short time  a lasting friendship was fashioned. I have no remembrance of what I might have said in our short visit, but to this day she reminds me of how encouraged she was by the words I spoke.

There are few gifts that you can give to someone which are more valuable than the  gift of encouragement. It doesn't cost anything except a willingness to put the interests of another ahead of your own.  It doesn't take much time to offer the gift, for it can be presented in the form of only a few short words.  It was Mother Theresa who wrote  "Kind words are so short and easy to speak, and yet their echoes are endless."

I am so grateful for the "endless echoes" of my friend’s appreciation. These echoes are a continual reminder of why encouragement has been called oxygen to the soul, and why we can’t live very long without it.

Is there someone you could encourage today? All you need is a few minutes of your time to pick up the phone, write the note, send the email, pick out the card, or ...…………. ………………..

I encourage you to be an encourager.  Be prayerful  and ask God to show you how you might make a difference in someone’s life the way my friend made a difference in mine. 

Paul writes that we are to "Encourage one another and build  each other up" (1 Thess. 5:10) and Solomon reminds us that "Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones (Prov. 16:24).

Don’t be a “tombstone encourager." Do it today while your friend is still around.

Yours in faith and friendship,
Tom