Encouragement

Everybody needs and encouraging somebody in their life. Encouraging people are easy to spot - they are surrounded by people. 

The pool deck I've been on our here in Santa Clara can be described with this one word - encouraging. "What's the big deal?" you might ask. "It's just swimming and officiating, right?" True. But every deck is not the same and unfortunately not enough of them can be described as encouraging.

Another official started me on this line of thinking. "Why can't all decks be like this?" It's a high caliber meet with world records holders, Olympic gold medalists and elite international athletes It's no slouch of a meet. But it's not all tense. The officials are having fun while doing our jobs. We're meeting new people, laughing together, eating out together and finding ways to support the various roles we are in.

Maybe it's the California sunshine. Maybe it's the experienced officials staffing positions. It could be Joel Black, our laid back Meet Referee from North Carolina. There's our head starter, Rich Robinson, who is one of the most encouraging people I know. Everything together has created a nice deck to work.

"Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means 'son of encouragement')" - Acts 4:36

Barnabas is a guy other people wanted to be around. In just a couple of verses through Acts 4 to chapter 15, we see Barnabas living life according to his name. At one point he chooses to encourage a young man named John Mark while at the same time Paul (the traveling companion of Barnabas at the time) wanted nothing to do with the young man who had abandoned the mission (Acts 13). Barnabas, though, feels so strongly, that he breaks with Paul and goes off on a missionary journey with John Mark to Cyprus.

Eventually near the end of his life, Paul asks for John Mark. I choose to think it was because of the encouragement of Barnabas that helped grow and mature John Mark. And Paul harsher treatment was also part of the process. We need both approaches in our lives and leadership.

2 Timothy 4:11 "Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry."

Maybe the good Lord knew we'd need such a demeanor on deck with the shirts we were given to wear for finals. You know you're in trouble when the tag in the shirt has bowling pins on it! Can I just say, it used to be all about the shirt but not any more. 

I wish I could bottle up this atmosphere and sprinkle each pool deck, every church, home and neighborhood.

Who can you encourage today? Need to be encouraged - encourage someone else first. Tell someone they're a great mom or dad, a great cook or grass cutter. Say "Thank you" to everyone today, for even the smallest of gestures or for things you'd "expect" them to do anyway. It doesn't matter what it is. Everybody likes to be encouraged.