I don’t know how he does it, but my dad seems to make it to almost all of the boy’s ball games (& all their cousin’s games too!). It doesn’t matter if it’s rain or shine. Inside or out. Soccer, football or basketball.
When that whistle blows, he’s usually sitting on the sideline.
He’s an encourager. Over all these years, he’s looked for the best in people and learned how to encourage them to see it too. He notices even the smallest wins or minor improvements and celebrates them. He sees what makes people special and he’s trained himself to find the opportunity to speak it.
Guess how he sees it?
He keeps showing up. Game after game. Weekend after weekend. Eyeball to eyeball. He’s paying attention. He’s looking for the good.
It’s his lifeblood.
As we were driving away from a game this weekend, I was thinking about how special that is for our boys. That over their lifetimes, they’ll have countless memories, of not only their mom and dad cheering them on, but their grandfather too. They’ll remember his hoots and hollers of encouragement. If history is an indicator, they’ll learn to do it too.
But what if your mom, dad or grandparent wasn’t an encourager?
If showing up, looking for the good and speaking encouragement into the lives of others wasn’t modeled for you, does that let you off the hook? Does it doom you for relational failure?
Of course not.
Does it make it harder? No doubt. Does it make it impossible? No way.
It just might mean you have to want it more.
You may have to work harder for it. You have to determine to show up for your people, even when you’re tired and it’s inconvenient. You have to retrain your eyes to look for the good in others and your lips to speak words of life and encouragement. When you miss the chance, you have to learn to get up and try again.
What was modeled for you isn’t your destiny.
That’s just an old lie that will deceive you, if you let it.
Your choices today, tomorrow, and the next day. . . those are your destiny.
You won’t do it perfectly. Sometimes you’ll miss the mark. When you miss the chance to show up, encourage and connect with your people, get up and try again. Don’t let that lie sneak back in, whispering your failures.
Keep making the choice to speak life.
You get to choose your legacy.
Start today.
to more love,
Crystal
