“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.” Proverbs 12:25
What makes you anxious? I am not just talking about the current pandemic…I think we can all agree that causes anxiety. I mean, what is it in your daily life that causes you the most anxiety? And what impact does that anxiety have on you?
I get what the writer of Proverbs is saying here, because the burden of anxiety does weigh down your heart. It makes you feel that nothing good can happen and robs you of joy. This is true whether the anxiety is financial, relational, or health related. It just parks itself on your heart and demands your attention.
When that happens, we need something to refocus our minds and hearts. And often we need that from outside of us, because the stress we are feeling makes it almost impossible to see past or around it to the good that could be right on the other side.
And sometimes, what is needed is just a kind word from someone. It is amazing how a timely, kind message can relieve some of the weight and allow us to breath enough to find some hope again.
I am trying to be much more intentional about offering those kind words when something strikes me as praiseworthy.
A quick story…Last week I listened to a sermon from a church that I follow in Washington state. It was a great message that spoke to me in a powerful way. So, I decided to find the guy who delivered it on Facebook and send a quick note to express my thanks for his willingness to be so transparent. I don’t know him, and he doesn’t know me, so my gesture could have come across as a bit stalky.
Instead, I got a message back telling me how timely my message was. He told me he had an encounter the day before that had left him feeling deflated and disoriented. And then said “You’ve lifted my spirit! Thank you!”
I tell the story not to show how good a thing I did, because it was just a simple Facebook message that took about a minute or two of my time. I tell the story as a reminder that we never know what might be weighing on somebody’s heart, but a kind word is almost always welcome. And it might arrive at exactly the time they need to hear it the most. And I think we can agree that we can never have too much kindness in the world.