Lessons from Hugs

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25, NIV).

One of my favorite times of the day is when my daughters come home from school. When they walk in the door, they come and find me and give me a big hug. It is truly awesome. I am well aware that the day may soon come when they are too cool to hug daddy so much, so I am soaking it all up while I can get it!

And I am not exaggerating when I tell you that there have been days I really needed it. This has been a very stressful year. There have been more than a few days in the last twelve months where it was one of those hugs that kept me going.

Of course, that kind of love makes you start thinking about things I could do for them. One of the things I did for each of my girls (and Mandi too) was to write each of them a short note telling them something I loved about them. I took the ABC route, coming up with a new thing each day in alphabetical order. Believe it or not, it wasn’t too hard. That quickly became a hit, and if I ever missed a day…well let’s just say they noticed.

One of the things I have been learning is that it is important to be paying attention to the promptings of the Spirit regarding encouraging one another. Encouragement need not be costly, complicated, or time consuming. You don’t even need to speak. A hug at the right time can say more than a thousand words. I am sure you have experienced that truth yourself.

Who is Jesus prompting you to encourage today?