There’s
a wonderful movie, “Awakenings”, with Robin Williams, that portrays a physician
who ministers to chronically-ill patients. Each patient displays
Parkinsonian-like symptoms, and appears both immobile and vegetative.
Of course, our hero seeks out a cure to
these dire symptoms, and works mightily to conjure up the right medication and
dosage to bring the patients back to near normality.
Prior to discovering the correct remedy,
however, we see Dr. Sayers interacting with one vegetative lady. He drops her
glasses from eye-level, and she reaches out to catch them. He throws another
patient a ball, and the fellow reaches up to catch it. On consultation with
another physician we hear our clinician talking about “the will of the ball,”
as if something or someone had the power to impact another’s thoughts and
actions. Ultimately, all of Dr. Sayer’s patients make full, but sadly,
temporary recoveries.
I think my favorite subject must be
Encouragement. I think encouragement must be one of God’s Priorities because
Jesus Christ was (and is) Encouragement Incarnate.
My Little Buddy is a runt of a dog weighing
all of twenty pounds. Buddy is pushing sixty in dog years, and she’s seen
better days. She sleeps most of the time, but that’s always been true of her. I
love my Little Buddy.
But as inactive as she is, she’s
intelligent, and occasionally emotional. She’s been known to turn her backside
to me when I won’t allow her to go to town. But, then again, all you have to
say is “Buddy, ya wanna go?” and she’s out the door ahead of me.
Buddy is very food-conscious, and begs us
to give her bits of our “people-food.” My wife will be eating, and Buddy turns
to me, as if to say, “I don’t talk human-being, so how about telling her to
share with me?” Of course, I do. She depends on me to be her spokesman. And
it’s my pleasure to assist my Buddy.
I watch my little dog as she navigates the
living room furniture. That’s a kick, all by itself. Buddy will attempt a
high-jump into my easy chair, and will fail as often as not.
Then, suddenly, she will turn her head my
way, as if to say, “I need a little Encouragement here. My little legs aren’t
what they used to be.”
I know it’s crazy, but I will encourage her
at this point. “Jump Buddy. You can do it. Jump! And jump she does, and the "sixty-year old puppy" just manages to clear the two foot obstacle, to finally rest contentedly in my easy chair.
We may be the Only Encouragement some
hapless, helpless, hopeless person may ever know. I want to be up for the task.
And I want to find myself passing that baton to my leaders and to those who
look to me for emotional and verbal assistance. There is such power in words.
There is such power in action. We have a fleeting opportunity to SET THE STANDARD.
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