The Gift of Encouragement

The pandemic was in full swing, and all of us were pretty much isolated. Most of us were scared, thousands were dying, and there was no end in sight as COVID-19 took the world by storm. I was grateful to be working from home, but I felt the loss of human contact—and what little I had, was laced with fear. Would my loved ones suffer and die without me by their side? Would I ever be able to hug the ones I loved again? Social distancing might make sense, but what about our mental health?

Although COVID was rough on everyone, for those of us in the recovery community, things looked pretty bleak. Without the chance to meet for mutual support, many feared they might go back to drinking. But then God showed up, and almost overnight, the news that we could meet online spread like wildfire. Not only could we meet, but now those who were homebound, disabled, or lived in nursing homes could meet with us to share their experience, strength, and hope.

But something was still missing, and I couldn’t put my finger on it. It wasn’t the obvious lack of human touch. It was something deeper, so I began to pray about it.

One day, I heard someone say that they had begun writing letters again. Emails were fine, but letters carried a personal touch because they required some effort and time to write. And unlike emails, which are usually read and discarded or forgotten, a letter can be kept and re-read, again and again.

That’s what I can do, I thought. I can send a card of encouragement to my friends! In a short time, Amazon had delivered several boxes of colorful notecards to my doorstep. I found an old fountain pen (I love those!) but quickly discovered that my cursive skills had drastically dwindled from lack of use. No matter. I would print. And that made sense to me since many of my younger friends couldn’t read cursive, anyway!

I think my first card went to my mother, followed by one to each of my sisters. Then I began texting my friends in recovery for their addresses. Most of them were surprised that I wanted to write, but none of them refused. Pretty soon, I began getting pictures and texts saying, “Look what I got in the mail today!”

Believe it or not, a few actually sent me cards, too. They thanked me for taking the time to write and told me how special it made them feel.

At one point, God impressed me to write to a friend I’d lost touch with. Not realizing that he’d returned to drinking, I just wrote words of encouragement each week for a month or longer. Finally, one day, I got a phone call, and his voice broke as he thanked me for the cards. “You know, I kept every one of them in my desk drawer after I read them,” he said. “I don’t know why, but I couldn’t throw them away…” his voice trailed off as he choked back the tears.

After a long pause, he told me that he’d seen the little stack of cards when he’d opened his desk drawer that day. “I couldn’t help myself. I pulled them out and re-read each one.” His tears were flowing, yet he continued, “I suddenly realized what I was missing out on by drinking. My girlfriend has left me, my job is in jeopardy, and I’m back to the misery and the loneliness I felt before. I want to quit drinking again, so I prayed and asked God to give me the courage to call you. I’m so ashamed of myself, and I want so desperately to get sober again. Will you help me?”

As I look back, I realize that God used something very simple to reach him. A blank card, a fountain pen, a stamp, and a few words from my heart. Many times, a simple act of kindness carries a much greater blessing than we know. By following the urging of the Holy Spirit, I was allowed a small part in bringing someone back from the edge—and God had rekindled his desire to get sober again.

What had I written? Simple words of encouragement. The Bible says we need each other and that we ought to encourage one another—and that is so important for those of us who seek recovery. “Two are better than one…. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up.” Ecclesiastes 4:9–10.

It has never been more evident to me how the devil discourages those whom he has managed to trap. Like a raptor whose talons dig deeply into its prey, he bleeds us of all our will to fight our addiction—and in time, he bleeds us of all our will to live. Then despair takes over and we begin to believe there is no hope for us.

But no gone is too far gone! As long as a heart is beating, there is hope!

For alcoholics in recovery, there is grave danger in turning a deaf ear to the cries of others who suffer under the weight of this illness. All around us are poor and tired souls that need sympathetic words. Too often they are passed over by Christians who look down on them because they are uncouth or unattractive. Yet they are God’s property. They have been bought at a terrible price, and they are as precious in His sight as we are.

Not all can be reached in the same way. Some genuinely desire to help but find that they cannot reach the alcoholic easily. There is a special work for those of us who have been redeemed from that terrible fate because we can usually win the entire confidence of another alcoholic in a few minutes or hours. Our shared past and the fact that we have only a genuine desire to be helpful, allows for that vital trust to be established.

Most alcoholics have sunk so low that they hardly know whether they have souls to be saved or not. They have no faith in God, nor any confidence in man. They can only be reached through acts of kindness that demand nothing in return. As they see the evidence of this unselfish love, it will be easier for them to believe in the love of God.

Of course, this principle applies to each soul caught up in sin. And in an ironic way, it’s God’s plan that those who have suffered through a particular difficulty are uniquely qualified to help someone else in a similar situation. Nothing is wasted in God’s world, and He can be counted on to bring people who need the specialized compassion and help we can give them into our lives.

I challenge you to become an encourager. I believe God has given each of us a portion of that talent—and as Jesus’ parable indicates, when we use those talents, He multiplies them (see Matthew 25:14–29).

Look around you. It won’t take long to find someone who needs a word of encouragement. Whether it’s a cashier somewhere, a co-worker, family member, or a random stranger, you can make a difference with a kind word or act—or maybe you may want to try writing a card.

God will bless every effort you make to reach out to others. And you can count on many “divine appointments” if you do!