The first year I decided I would give up chocolate. Anyone who knows me at all knows that chocolate is the very lifeblood running through my veins so this was a pretty big deal for me. Right after Lent started, I went to a conference for work. I don't remember anything about that conference except that they served the biggest, most delicious-looking piece of chocolate cake I have ever set my eyes on. I can still see that piece of cake in my mind; it makes my mouth water a little when I think about it. Well, this was most certainly a test, and I was tempted. VERY TEMPTED. Someone at the table must have seen the dilemma I was having because they asked me what was wrong. Their advice was to just eat it anyway because my husband would never know. Oh, that didn't work for me because I would know. And, more importantly, God would know that just two days into my promise I gave into temptation.
Later on, when I was telling Todd the agony I faced in resisting that piece of chocolate cake, he had no sympathy for me at all. He said, "Jesus gave up his life for you, and you can't give up a piece of chocolate cake?" OUCH! That cut right to my heart, and the sacrifice that Jesus made for me has never been more clear.
Over the years, I have given up different things during Lent to help me remember what Jesus did. What I have found year to year is that no matter what I give up, it is only difficult for about three days. After that, it does not require all that much effort. I have also found that what I give up is really only a benefit to me. It doesn't impact anyone else at all. (Except the year that I gave up chocolate and caffeine--I am pretty sure that was not beneficial to anyone who had to be near me!)
So this year I wanted to do something different. I wanted to do something that would benefit other people. I prayed about it, and I began thinking about how Jesus treated people. He was loving. He was kind. He was encouraging. And those are all things I would like to be too.
I decided I would do 40 Days of Encouragement. Each day I took the time to write a simple note to someone in my life. It wasn't lengthy or anything really earth-shattering. Just a handwritten note that said I appreciate them.
I started by making a list of people that would get a note from me. Some were family; some from church, and some from work. A couple were for people who had an impact on me years ago, but haven't had much contact with recently.
It is funny how the Holy Spirit works. I would often wake up thinking about a particular person, and I would write a note to that person. About half of the people were from the original list I made, and the other half were people I had not thought of on my own. Some of the ones I wrote to are people I barely know.
The really cool part of this project was how many times someone came up to me and said, "Thanks. Your note came at the perfect time. I really needed that right then." Well, that is not my timing. That is all God. He knew who most needed some encouragement; that did not come from me.
I really enjoyed seeing how my words brought a smile to someone else. Something I did made a difference to someone else. That was a big blessing to me.
It really is true that we reap what we sow. Out of the blue, I received an email from a mom of a student I worked with a few years ago. She told me her student had just been accepted into National Junior Honor Society, and she attributed a lot of his successes now to the time I had invested in him. WOW!!! I was totally blown away. Not only did she send that to me, but she sent that exact same message to my principal, my assistant principal, and my superintendent. I was totally and completely humbled and blessed by her taking the time to do that. And then I got a very similar note from a different parent the next day! Since neither of these moms were people I had written a note to, that made it even more special. I have to believe it was a direct outcome of me taking the time to notice other people.
My 40 Days of Encouragement were not terribly difficult to accomplish. It did not require a huge sacrifice of my time, willpower, or finances. Some days I forgot to write a note; some days I wrote two or three at once. But what I learned was the importance of taking time out of my own little world to notice someone around me. To say thanks. To say I appreciate you. That is something I need to do all the time-not just forty days a year.
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