Encouragement can come from unlikely places.
I made a new friend this week. Paul was bidding on a guitar I sold on ebay. (My purple G&L will soon have a new home.) The weird thing is that Paul lives in Russia. He sent me a note asking if I would be willing to ship the guitar to Moscow. I hadn’t thought about the prospect of an international sale, but if he was willing to pay for the shipping…
His email developed into a conversation that covered worship, church, faith in Jesus, hurts caused by people once trusted, grace and healing…the emails were a pleasure to write, and a joy to read. This guy I’d never met was pouring out theology and words of encouragement halfway around the world. He wrote from his heart, opening up to me about some serious things, asking me questions that probed beneath the surface. I don’t know if that’s normal in Moscow, or just normal for Paul. At first I was skeptical (Is this guy for real?) but after the second email asking about my church and my role, I figured that he was on the level, which made our conversation even better.
When was the last time that you went beyond the surface with someone? Who was the last person you stopped to talk to–and I mean really talk?
Encouragement often comes from unlikely places, like Mother Russia via ebay. This little episode has sparked a reminder to me: there are people all around me who are in need of a word of encouragement. I want to be an encourager, like my new friend Paul. He didn’t win the auction, but he made a friend. That’s got to count for something, right?
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