who awaits our rain ?

Every other month, I meet with five friends and we pray and seek His leadings.We met last week and this word was given to me to speak aloud;"Encourage someone;it is a small thing, but it matters."

This has been buzzing around in my head for days now."Encouragement".'My mind drifts back to my childhood and how bereft it was of anything like that.My sister and I were expected to get good grades,be home on time, do the dishes etc.The "atta boys" and the "warm fuzzies" were padlocked in a steel trunk in the basement.Interest in my self esteem was neither high nor low but non-existent.Maybe it was the Depression or the trip in steerage from Scotland or the poverty that made it so hard for anyone in my family to praise or express positive feelings.But, there was a day that I remember.

A girl had moved in down the street when I was around ten or eleven.I can neither see her face nor remember her name.She must have been only visiting because she was gone after a short while.We got to know each other and one warm summer evening , we were chatting on the sidewalk on Bedford Avenue,when she said, "You know what,I like you".What?

I was wearing brown penny loafers and crew socks that day.I know because I was staring at them after she spoke.I had neither the facility nor the words to answer her.This was rain falling on a parched desert.As I walked home at dusk ,I believe that her words slowly seeped into my psyche on the plus side of the ledger.I wish I knew her name.

For Lent, I am going to work on this leading .Between now and then, I am going to pray that I will recognize opportunties to encourage.And now ,I would like to ask
you to tell me when you have received encouragement and what the result has been?