Jim Martin's Encouragement Note #32
Maybe you have received such a gift! A kind word or an expression of appreciation can help propel someone toward a positive future. I have remembered some gestures of appreciation for a long, long time.
Hopefully, something in the following list of five will bless as you live a life of appreciation toward God and others who have encouraged you.
The List of Five
Small Things Can Make a Huge Difference
The excavator below, along with tugboats and dredgers in the water, helped clear the way for the ship, the EVER GIVEN, to get unstuck from the Suez Canal after six long days (March 2021). Next to this ship, this excavator, seems so small. Yet, it actually made quite a difference in helping the ship become unstuck.
Some think a significant life might be found in having an important job title or possessing symbols of success. We may even create particular images of ourselves through calculated posts on Facebook or Instagram.
I came across an article by Michael Thompson. I almost passed it by because of the title. However, I do like the words found at the end of the article.
We all have big dreams. We all want to be respected and treated as unique individuals. We often forget, however, that our lives aren’t measured by how many people inspire us, but rather how many people we inspire. And the beauty of this is that it doesn’t have to be something that we consider big.
One smile at a time. One compliment at a time. One warm gesture at a time.
This is how you and I impact others. As a Christ-follower, I am committed to follow Christ wherever he leads.
My life is not about self-promotion or self-advantage. Rather, I am called to serve others in Jesus’ name.
My value is not measured by how impressed others might be. Rather, serving Jesus in and of itself is significant.
My identity is not what I have created on social media so that others will comment in agreement.
Some seem to think that real life will happen “one day.” “One day we will buy a house, settle down, get married, have children, etc.” Such a perspective seems to suggest that real life is not happening now but only as the future is realized.
The truth is that even a “cup of cold water” given in the name of Jesus matters. An action or kind gesture doesn’t have to be announced on social media to be significant. What is done in relative obscurity can have a powerful kingdom impact.
When I am tempted to give up, I want to remember Elijah in I Kings 17. No rain, yet God showed his faithfulness. The jug of oil did not run dry. The jar of flour did not run out. God sustains, even in a season of ministry that is hard, with an outcome that is seemingly small.
Small matters when God is at work.
What If This Happens?
Do you ever lie awake at night and wonder what might happen? Through the years, I have worried far too much. Some of my worries have occurred at 3:00 AM, in the middle of the night. Perhaps you can identify with this.
I love this poem by author Shel Silverstein.
Last night, while I lay thinking here,
Some Whatifs crawled inside my ear
And pranced and partied all night long
Whatif I'm dumb in school?
Whatif they've closed the swimming pool?
Whatif I get beat up?
Whatif dad is in jail For not paying his taxes
Whatif I start to call 911Whatif I call Frankie for pizza pie
What is my plane was lateWhatif nobody likes me?
Whatif a bolt of lightning strikes me?
Whatif I don't grow tall?
Whatif my head starts getting smaller?
Whatif the fish won't bite?
Whatif the wind tears up my kite?
Whatif they start a war?
Whatif my parents get divorced?
Whatif the bus is late?
Whatif my teeth don't grow in straight?
Whatif I tear my pants?
Whatif I never learn to dance?
Everything seems well, and then
The nighttime Whatifs strike again!
As an adult, I may smile at some of these “Whatifs.” However, I have a list of adult “Whatifs” that I could add right now. It may just be me, but I suspect that some who are reading these words can identify with this. I am thankful for the words of Jesus who reminds us:
Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are? Who among you by worrying can add a single moment to your life? (Matthew 6:25-27)
Lost and Found
Recently, Charlotte and I traveled to Texas for the first time since March 2020. (We live in Memphis, Tn.) This was the first trip we have made as fully vaccinated from COVID-19. The daughter of some dear friends got married at a venue about an hour from Waco. We enjoyed this trip so much! We visited with numerous longtime friends at the wedding. My sister lives in Dallas and we also had the opportunity to see her for the first time in a year. I mention this because it meant so much to see these people after almost no travel for a year due to the pandemic.
While in Dallas, I had the opportunity to see my mother’s grave for the first time. My mother died in Dallas, March 2020 as the pandemic was just beginning. Just before her death, I spent a day with her, laughing and telling old stories. Since then, we had not been in Texas in over a year. Last week, I finally saw her grave and monument.
This trip reminded me of a wonderful image that I read in a letter from a friend last year. This friend described this time period as a time of “Lost and Found.” Many of us have lost much but we have also found much.
Yes, so many of us suffered losses in the last year.
The loss of certainty. We have experienced much change. Change creates anxiety.
The loss of a much anticipated vacation. (We canceled flights, hotel reservations, and a much desired vacation.)
The loss of the presence of others, both friends and family. No wonder so many of us have felt lonely and isolated during this past year!
The loss of friends and family members through death.
Meanwhile, there are some valuable things many of us have found.
Some of us have found that we can learn to trust God even in the ambiguity. God is faithful!
Some of us have found that we can get much work done without necessarily being in an office.
Some of us have found joy in the simple pleasure of having a conversation or being present with another person.
Some of us have found pleasure in simply taking walks.
I like this image - lost and found. Moving forward, I want to acknowledge and grieve the losses that I and others have experienced. However, I also want to be grateful for what has been found.
What have you lost? What have you found?
What Keeps You From Starting?
“Whenever you are stuck searching for the optimal plan, remember: Getting started changes everything.” (The 3,2,1, Newsletter, James Clear, April 15, 2021).
Getting started changes everything.
What an important and helpful sentence!
Several years ago, I was working on a particular project. I was researching and thinking but I had not started. One day I was visiting with my friend Scott Meyer, a minister in Temple, Texas. He asked about the project and inquired as to when I was going to implement this project. I said that I was not ready to begin yet. However, I really didn’t have a clear reason for the delay.
Finally, he said, “Why don’t you just start? You can learn more later but right now don’t you know enough to start?” He was right. I needed to start.
I love these words by John Acuff from his book, Start:
“Regardless of your age or station in life, it all comes down to one simple truth: you just have to start” (p. 25).
What about you? Is there something that you need to start?
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Resources
I am reading Adam Grant’s Think Again. This book has so many great nuggets! I stop, highlight, and then read more and highlight again.
The podcast series “Hiding in Plain Sight” is very interesting. This series is about Lady Bird Johnson and her life in the White House. Her audio diary was particularly interesting.
I read an interesting book review recently entitle “The Cage of Paternal Love.” The review (Wall Street Journal, April 3-4) focused on the book Churchill and Son, by Josh Ireland. Much of this deals with the difficult father-son relationships in the Churchill family.
I was reading author David Foster Wallace’s book This is Water, and stumbled on this interesting quote (p. 48): “Probably the most dangerous thing about an academic education, at least in my own case, is that it enables my tendency to over-intellectualize stuff, to get lost in abstract thinking instead of simply paying attention to what’s going on in front of me.”
You might want to look at the series in Lifehacker, “How I Work?” I find many of these to be very interesting. Basically, each post in the series discusses the work life, habits, and tools, of particular individuals.
Each Thursday/Friday, I post about ten tweets especially for ministers and other believers as they anticipate Sunday. You can find me @jimmartin.
I serve as Vice President of Harding School of Theology, Memphis, Tennessee. You can find me at God-Hungry.org. You can find me on Facebook - @jim.martin. My e-mail address is: jmartin9669@gmail.com. Feel free to write. I would love to hear what is encouraging or helpful. — Jim Martin
