"Helping" the Winners

"And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and unto good works..." Hebrews 10:24

Photo:  jill111 pixabay

Good morning, dear friends,

I have missed my daily communication with you all.  I am hoping that after camp things will settle down and I will be able to write more freely again!  Thanks for all your kind words and prayers these last few days...I believe it has truly helped me to be ready with stressing overmuch.

(Maybe you should ask my family how I have been doing...their opinion might be different from mine.)

This time of year in France is the Tour de France, the famous bicycle race that takes over two French TV channels this time of year.  This is a special year for us here in Amiens, because the race finishes today in our city.  So, if you happen to have access to a channel that is showing the Tour, you will see it pass through the villages near our home, and finish in the larger city of Amiens that our family is trying to reach.

I think I'll stay away from the crowds, though.  I'm not very big on waiting hours in crowds just to see the cyclists zip through our city in a matter of seconds.

When our family first arrived in France, I enjoyed watching the Tour de France on TV, especially when Lance Armstrong was a strong favorite for the rest.  His story was an inspiration to me, until I found out that he was cheating on the drug tests.  Afterwards, not so much.  Since Armstrong stopped competing, and there are no really interesting American contenders, I have kind of let my enthusiasm for the Tour dwindle out.

My family still laughs at me though as we remember me watching the Tour in our early days here in France.  I would be sitting on the couch, mesmerized by the cyclists, until my family pointed out that I was swaying lightly back and forth, imitating the movement of the cyclists on TV.  My legs were even trying to move up and down as I was watching them.

I was trying to "help" the cyclists climb the hill, finish the sprint, or stay ahead of the pack.

How silly it seems now, and how many times we have had a good laugh at my expense.  My husband recently purchased a secondhand exercise bike for me to use at the house, and he laughingly told me to make sure to "help" the cyclists today as they arrive in Amiens.

Ha ha.

It's so easy to be an encourager, if I will just take the time to think about it, and do it.  It only takes a few words, a kind gesture, a smile, a friendly hug to lift someone's spirits and help them to keep on keeping on for the Lord.

It comes from...

...kind words instead of critical ones.

...thoughtfulness to other's needs instead of selfishly guarding my own interests.

...compassion for those who hurt instead of judging missteps or bad choices.

...lending a helping hand instead of jealously coveting another's blessings.

...speaking God's truth in love instead of using it as a club to hurt others.

How much I need to grow in this area of encouraging others.

If I can so easily be swayed into "helping" bicycle riders on TV, then surely my love for the Lord and for my brothers and sisters in Christ should come just as easily.

Hope to see you all at the finish line one day!