Do Not Underestimate The Power!

The following has circulated via e-mail and surfaced in church bulletins, but I think it bears putting out there again for any who may not have read it. More detailed versions of the story can be found by searching the internet, but here it is as it appeared in the Volume 8, Number 6 edition of "House To House, Heart to Heart" (Jacksonville, Alabama).

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Helen Mrosla writes: In an earlier grade, I'd taped Mark's mouth shut for talking too much in class. Now he was one of my students in junior high math.

His class had worked hard all week. By Friday the students were getting cranky. So, for a break, I asked them to write the nicest thing they could about every student and hand it in. I compiled the results for each student and gave out the lists.

Several years later, Mark was killed in Vietnam. After the funeral, most of his former classmates gathered with Mark's parents and me for lunch. Mark's father took a wallet out of his pocket. 'They found this on Mark when he was killed,' he said. He carefully removed a folded, refolded, and taped paper -- the one on which I'd listed the good things Mark's classmates had said about him.

Charlie smiled sheepishly and said, 'I keep my list in my desk drawer.' Chuck's wife said, 'Chuck put his in our wedding album.' 'I have mine, too,' Marilyn said, 'in my diary.' Vicky reached into her pocketbook and brought out her frazzled list.
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I remember back in the late 1970's when I helped chaperone a group of teens across the country to a teen workshop. On our return trip home we all (adults and teens) wrote notes to each other stating the things we appreciated about them. I can remember how ENCOURAGING those personal comments were at the time and each subsequent time they were read. Being tired from the workshop and setting in for the long drive home, it was a great help to our focus.

Solomon stated. . .
"To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and A WORD IN SEASON, HOW GOOD IT IS!" ( Proverbs 15:23 ESV)

May we never underestimate the power of an APPRECIATIVE and ENCOURAGING word. It could be remembered and remain powerful much longer than we might imagine. Think about those who ENCOURAGED us in the past and what they did or said that really picked us up. May we continue to pass such along. "A WORD IN SEASON" can not only be "good", but can make a powerful difference in the life of another as well.

Have a great day REMEMBERING THE POTENTIAL IMPACT OF OUR WORDS!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Encouragement