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A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with Canon Ann Easter

Good morning.

I was fascinated to learn that September 12th, today, has been declared the National Day of Encouragement in the United States of America. They say that it’s a day to uplift and encourage people and I’ve no doubt that, done with care, such a day must make an enormous difference in people’s lives and thus lift their communities too.

My younger son loved his baby sling but probably spent rather longer in it, tied to my chest, than he ought to have done. Standing in a queue one day, a lady looked over at my son, sleeping soundly, and I said, a bit defensively, ‘He’s a proper mummy’s boy, this one’ to which the lady replied, ‘And you’re a proper boy’s Mummy’ and that was so kind and positive and made me feel better about myself and the baby.

I do really try to give honest encouragement when I can and I say ‘honest’ because it’s all too easy to gush about anything but, if it’s not real, our words are empty and meaningless and thus not helpful. If our hope is to give others courage, we need not only to appreciate what they’ve done but to support them in going further. We know from our own experience that there will be risks to take and, that sometimes people fail, but, if we know that, if we feel that others believe in us, we can try again and, next time, fail better.

Lord, help us to show others that we genuinely believe in them, to give them courage and hope and so to bring your Kingdom of love nearer to this earth and all its children.

Amen