Arriving home one flustered day, I was greeted with a clump of unattractive
mail, cluttering up an otherwise neat dining room table, set for the evening
meal. It had been a profoundly disenchanting day. And the first letter I open
was an unexpected bill, and then there was the reminder of a parking fine to
pay that we had transferred from my wife’s name to mine. I was feeling pretty
beaten at this stage, and what with the meal to finish, and our three-year-old son
acting his age, my wife was already engaged.
Then, from the pile, she shoved a smaller, distinctive envelope
toward me. Immediately I was curious. I slid the card out, opened it, and was
struck by such little white-space.
Words. I like words. I do like them very much. Words of
encouragement, but words also of reminder; of God’s eternal goodness. I
personally like words of encouragement, but the words of Psalm
16 were a covenant reminder: He is with us, for us, never against us.
It was a small gift. It cost all of a dollar to procure the
card, perhaps five minutes to write it out, and another dollar to post it. But
the card (I later found out) was kept prayerfully for several weeks, without a
good deal of intention, yet it landed in my hand at precisely the right time.
God times encouragements for when we’re discouraged, and hope
for when we’re despairing, so expect joy amid sorrow.
Not only were we mightily encouraged by the words in that card,
we were doubly encouraged by the timing of its receipt, and triply that the
giver of the card was encouraged by God’s use of it.
Small gifts are sizeable encouragements, and can prove to be catalysts
for turning points in people’s journeys.
It’s amazing how significant are the good gifts God gives, which
are ever small, because small things convey love with power.
May you be blessed in both the giving and receiving of
encouragements that serve to build up the Body of Christ.
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