It was a simple note. It said “You are doing great! Keep it up!” And it was exactly what I needed.
I certainly didn’t think it was going great. I didn’t feel great. I actually felt like I was spinning my wheels and not going anywhere. But that’s often how it goes when you are in the middle of the tough times doesn’t it? You can’t see beyond where you are right now because you are just keeping your head above water. And when someone on the outside looking in sends you a note of encouragement or shares a kind word with you, sometimes that’s all you need.
It was one of those days that I was sitting in my car and opened the note. It was unexpected, of course. And my first thought was to dismiss it as the person just being nice. Certainly they couldn’t actually believe that? That’s when I heard it and looked up through the sunroof at the birds flying above me. It was a flock of geese flying in that familiar V formation with most of them honking loudly. Then I remembered the story of why geese fly in that V formation, and it hit me.
The one flying in front is expending all the energy and working the hardest, often it seems, alone. But they aren’t alone because their hard work makes it easier for those behind them. And all that honking is coming from the geese flying behind, encouraging the one in the front. It’s a beautiful metaphor for life I think, and we can all learn a valuable lesson from it.
I got encouragement at the moment I needed it from someone who wants me to succeed and knew I needed encouragement. In fact, I get that from alot of people in my life, and I realize how valuable it is. And so after the geese disappeared in the distance and I couldn’t hear them anymore, I picked up my phone and called a friend of mine who I knew would need encouragement. Because I know that encouragement given is just as important as encouragement received. So who have you encouraged today?
