E-mail Encouragement: Rekindling Others

Just the other day, I was going through the line at our local grocery store. I have gone through her line many times. Each time I approach to be waited on, I ask something of her day, ending with her name (“How are you, [name]?). After all this time, she asks me, “How do you know my name?” I say, “It’s on the receipt.” She replied, “Oh.” Then, I was off to get ice (because I don’t like to grab it and stand in line for it to possibly melt), I responded, “I like to call people by name if I know it because it is better to say a name than not.” I could tell that it kind of opened her eyes and brightened her day, to an extent. Something as simple as calling someone by name can make someone feel good. That brings us to today’s quote…

• In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. - Albert Schweitzer

Whether it is calling someone by their name, remembering a birthday, a random act of kindness, a card/e-mail/text of encouragement, sharing Jesus with a lost soul, or something else, you can make a world of difference in their life and in the Kingdom by a simple encounter. What happens in that encounter is totally up to you.

How will you rekindle someone’s spirit today? Giving a compliment, calling them by name, listening to their struggles, being patient,…how?

Let me know any situations you were the flame burst-er or had your flame bursted – what happened?

I hope you have a great end of your week!

Anticipating the encounters ~