Encouragement

Holidays are filled with hustle and bustle...filled with good tidings and cheer...filled with STRESS?!?! ...TEARS?!?!...stress about STRESS and TEARS?!?!  Whether you're juggling a dozen "light" loads or buckling under one life-or-death burden, Matthew 11:28 reminds us that Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."  This is not the time of year to set aside quiet time with the Lord but the time to meditate on  His Word.  Even when it is not easy, thank God for what is good (the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ for starters) and cry to Him about what seems unbearable.  He knows all about submitting to the will of the Father when the flesh wants an easier way out (Mark 11:35-36).  Last week when I was struggling with a bit of the blues, a few things happened to pick me up.   One, I received the news that cancer had returned to a young child from my hometown which  gave me much needed perspective in dealing with the mundane of motherhood.  The other thing was a mentor friend of mine suggested that I just cry out to God for some help to lift my spirit and return the joy to my soul and be encouraged by the Psalms.  When looking for some guided reading I stumbled across a book on our shelf, Streams in the Desert. (this is a link to the free ebook version) I sat down with it and began to read a few days at a time, looking up the devotions that were based in Psalms and then finding myself just reading on.  I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this devotion book for you or as a gift for anyone who may need to be encouraged or just gain a bit of perspective. 

Here's the entry from December 8 which has stuck with me.  
As God's chosen people...clothe yourselves with...kindness.  (Col 3:12)
There is an old story of an elderly man who always carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and when he would go through a door that squeaked, he would squirt a little oil on the hinges.  If he encountered a gate that was hard to open, he would oil the latch.  And so he went through life, lubricating all the difficult places, making it easier for all those who came after him.  People called the man eccentric, strange, and crazy, but he went steadily on, often refilling his can of oil when it was nearly empty, and oiling all the difficult places he found.
In this world, there are many lives that painfully creak and grate as they go about their daily work.  Often it seems that nothing goes right for them and that they need lubricating with "the oil of joy" (ps 45:7), gentleness, or thoughtfulness.
Do you carry your own can of oil with you?  Are you ready with your oil of helpfulness each morning?  If you offer your oil to the person nearest you, it may just lubricate the entire day for him.  Your oil of cheerfulness will mean more than you know to someone who is downhearted.  Or the oil may be a word of encouragement to a person who is full of despair.  Never fail to speak it, for our lives may touch others only once on the road of life, and then our paths may diverge, never to meet again.  
The oil of kindness has worn the sharp, hard edges off many a sin-hardened life and left it soft and pliable, ready to receive the redeeming grace of the Savior.  A pleasant word is a bright ray of sunshine on a saddened heart.  Therefore give others the sunshine and tell Jesus the rest.


We cannot know the grief that men may borrow;
We cannot see the souls storm-swept by sorrow;
But love can shine upon the way.  Today, tomorrow;
Let us be kind.
Upon the wheel of pain so many weary lives are broken;
So may our love with tender words be spoken.
Let us be kind.


Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Romans 12:10