Text It

Matt Kennon is a terrible singer. He sings with that kind of phony country twang that is worse than irritating, but his song The Call hits on a truth that is absolutely exceptional. The song tells several stories about people poised to make some life altering, or ending, decisions whose situations are drastically changed by the influence of a friendly phone call.

There is a great truth to be discerned from this simple idea; honest encouragement is powerful.

In the past when I would send out my monthly newsletter I would attach small post-it notes to a number of the outgoing letters. It was never anything overly profound or lengthy. Usually it was more along the lines of "I just wanted to say thanks" or "thinking about you today." Even so, I heard back from several people about how those little personal notes brightened their day.

Fast forward about eight years and here we all are in a world where world wide communication borders on instantaneous and the socialization of media and information is the norm. How might that former snippet of encouragement look in a world where a phone is barely used for talking and paper mail is old-hat? Text messages.

Several times lately I've had stray thoughts of dear friends cross my mind, seemingly out of the blue. It had become my regular practice to lift them up in prayer when this happens, but also, to text them, let them know they're on my mind, and try to offer some sincere encouragement.

I like how Hebrews 3:13 puts it, "but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today..."

Encouragement is powerful, and in this modern age of communication it is just a few key stokes away.