Wednesday Words of Encouragement
Proverbs 12:25 ~
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
My son, Stephen, was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder when he was eleven years old. At that time his anxieties were so bad that he would get facial tics when he was in the midst of a full blown attack. We took him to a counselor for about a year until he was able to learn coping techniques to get them under control. Nowadays, most people would never know that he struggles with this. God is good!
It was difficult to deal with his irrational anxieties and I have to admit I was not always very patient. To be honest, I wished he would just snap out of it! However, I found that when I was patient in the midst of one of his more anxious times and spoke kindly and gently to him, it helped him to work his way out of it.
Most of us do not have anxiety to that degree, but I’m sure we can all relate to the fearful knots we can get in the pit of our stomachs periodically. There are times when we are under a heavy burden and it’s easy to feel worried. When we are going through a time like this, and someone speaks words of encouragement to us, it often helps to ease the anxiety.
The dictionary tells us that kind means 1. Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature; 2. Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable. When we try to encourage someone who is struggling with anxiety do our words reflect this definition? Or is it more of a “get over it already” tone?
We can become so busy and wrapped up in our own world that we forget to take a moment and really listen when someone talks. We can neglect to show kindness with our words. We can forget that sometimes people just need to know that someone understands and cares.
As you go about your day today, keep your eyes open for someone to whom you can show kindness. Who does the Lord want you to cheer up today?
An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.
My son, Stephen, was diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder when he was eleven years old. At that time his anxieties were so bad that he would get facial tics when he was in the midst of a full blown attack. We took him to a counselor for about a year until he was able to learn coping techniques to get them under control. Nowadays, most people would never know that he struggles with this. God is good!
It was difficult to deal with his irrational anxieties and I have to admit I was not always very patient. To be honest, I wished he would just snap out of it! However, I found that when I was patient in the midst of one of his more anxious times and spoke kindly and gently to him, it helped him to work his way out of it.
Most of us do not have anxiety to that degree, but I’m sure we can all relate to the fearful knots we can get in the pit of our stomachs periodically. There are times when we are under a heavy burden and it’s easy to feel worried. When we are going through a time like this, and someone speaks words of encouragement to us, it often helps to ease the anxiety.
The dictionary tells us that kind means 1. Of a friendly, generous, or warm-hearted nature; 2. Showing sympathy or understanding; charitable. When we try to encourage someone who is struggling with anxiety do our words reflect this definition? Or is it more of a “get over it already” tone?
We can become so busy and wrapped up in our own world that we forget to take a moment and really listen when someone talks. We can neglect to show kindness with our words. We can forget that sometimes people just need to know that someone understands and cares.
As you go about your day today, keep your eyes open for someone to whom you can show kindness. Who does the Lord want you to cheer up today?
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I love your comments and encouragement! I can't always respond back but do read each comment.