Tag: suffering

Encouragement

Jennifred Jones

To give courage is a good way of saying it.

This day and age we all need to be encouraged, and each of us need to be encouragers. We’re all fighting battles, mental, emotional, physical, spiritual and some days the battle seems a bit more intense. Some courage – even if borrowed from another – would be helpful.

Courage is transferable, just like dis-courage is transferable. Why not belong to the encouragement group of helping, lifting up, building up, holding up. The dis-courage group is seen everywhere…knock down, tear down, close down, telling them why it can’t be done…foolish, stupid, etc. etc. etc.  Is our inner networking built up by encouraging others or by knocking somebody down to go higher?

I believe the majority belong to the encouragement bunch who want to see good, be good and do good. But the dis-couragement bunch tries to prevent it. Sometimes that dis-couragement ‘bunch’ resides inside our own head! We have to root those thoughts out!

In the long run, good will overcome evil, but no sense in causing more suffering along the way by participating in the ‘dis-courage bunch’.

Today, let’s rise higher, think nobler, be better, build more, encourage more and see the difference. It may only be noticeable in you or to you. But all good things start with a single step. You start and take the first step.

Today, I will…:)

Helping one can help many

Jennifred Jones

Yesterday, at church, our pastor prayed for all the people hurt or affected in any way by the recent horrific earthquake in Nepal.

Today as I looked at pictures of distraught people desperately looking for missing members of their families, I remembered several Asian Indians who own the gas station in my neighborhood. I have met and talked with them at other times and knew they had family over in that area, and the thought came that I should check about their families.

When I asked if his family was alright, the owner said, “Yes, thank God!” I was immediately relieved, but noticed the look of gravity on his face because of the effect on their home country land.

Returning home, I thought, “I cannot go over there and help physically, I know of no immediate way to get relief to the region, what can I do to help?”

Besides praying for them, the thought occurred to bake something and take to them as a small tangible token of compassion and care on my behalf for them and their suffering people.

They like spicy foods, so my cranberry-orange scones sounded like a good recipe to use, and I took them back to the gas station while they were still warm from the oven, and hoped there wouldn’t be anybody in line… so I could talk to them.

The store looked empty inside and I handed him my cranberry scone gift and told him that since I couldn’t go over there to help and didn’t know what else to do to ease the suffering, I was giving them this small token to let them know I cared about them and their people.

It was a heartfelt moment between two people, two different nationalities, bonding as fellow human beings with like concerns about family, life, suffering and compassion.

He was touched, I felt like crying just from the emotion of the moment, and as I turned to leave, I noticed a line of people had come in behind me, no doubt observing the whole thing. I tried quietly to get out the door.

It was back to business as usual.

Only the love of God can cause something beautiful to come from something ugly like an earthquake.

…just a do-gooder?

Jennifred Jones

How many times growing up when somebody attempted to do something nice for someone, say something nice to someone or actually did something nice for someone, were they accused of being a ‘do-gooder’. Today it is called ‘sucking-up’.

Since no one wants to be called names or accused of the above terms, many, many people with good intentions do nothing…absolutely nothing. And nothing good comes out of it.

I have been accused of being a ‘do-gooder’. I have let the fear of false accusations stop me from doing good, from helping others, from doing what I felt (knew) was right, because I was afraid of others calling me names.

There are many accusers trying to prevent others from doing good. In actuality, if the accusers had someone do something really good for them, they probably would change their tune. But the ole’ fear of what others might think or say holds many back.

The older I get, and the more pain and suffering I see, the more I realize the need to silence those fears, expose them for what they are and begin doing as much good as possible. We are each only given so much time on this earth… and there are a lot of needs … many hurting people, hurting in all kinds of unimaginable ways…hurting quietly, hoping no one will hear them cry. Are we going to continue to let them hurt when we can help them?

All it takes is to be on the lookout for ways in our everyday life to say, Hi, to be friendly to the cashier, or the old man behind us in line, to holler across the street at the neighbor and ask how they’re doing, to look our young people in the eye, smile at them and talk to them with interest, just show them somebody cares.

Don’t be afraid of being called a ‘do-gooder’ or a ‘suck-up’. Go out there and get busy doing as much good as you can.

Prove the accuser wrong…you’re doing good because people need to have good done to them.

Dissolve the accuser’s accusations by doing good– even to them!