Proverbs 12:25 says “Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.”
Have you ever found this statement to be true in your own life? I don’t think we realize as women how great an impact a “good word” can have on our fellow sisters in Christ. We don’t grasp how an encouraging word can change someone’s perspective, give them hope, and even calm anxiety.
Recently, this very thing happened to me. I share it here to encourage all of us to share a “good word” with whomever the Lord might place in our paths this week.
It was one week after I had given birth to my first child, and I desperately wanted life to feel “normal”. I was walking into church with a swirl of emotions flowing through me. Not only did I want to cry at the drop of a hat (thank you, postpartum hormones), but I also was struggling with my new calling as a mom. I didn’t enjoy nursing and felt tethered to my son who needed to eat every two hours. I was exhausted and couldn’t stay up to enjoy time with my husband for fear of losing out on precious sleep time. Everything in my life had changed overnight, and no matter how prepared I thought I would be for this, I was definitely not prepared.
I wanted to be a mom my whole life, and now that I was one, I couldn’t see past the moment right in front of me. I was scrolling other moms’ Instagram accounts, trying to catch some ray of hope that life would eventually find a routine and take up a new normal. I was walking into church desperately in need of encouragement and hope.
I pushed my stroller up to the “stroller section” and a friendly voice asked how I was. It was Katie Ricardo, who just had her third child, a little girl, a month before. She didn’t say anything out of the ordinary; she simply asked how I was and shared some simple encouragements. Honestly, I don’t remember everything that was said; however, I do remember its impact. I was encouraged. I had hope. For the first time all week, I felt like I could do this motherhood thing. I later texted her to thank her for her kind words, and she responded with more love and encouragement. She told me it was okay to admit that it was hard; life with a newborn is hard. Just because it’s hard doesn’t mean that the Lord won’t give grace or that you’re a bad mom. She promised me that it does get better and that I would adjust. She also let me know that she was available to talk if I ever needed anything or had a hard day.
I was overwhelmed by her kindness and care. And I will forever look back on that simple, small conversation as a turning point in my life as a mom.
I am sure If you ask Katie about that encounter, she will tell you she didn’t say anything profound. She was simply looking to build up a fellow sister in the Lord. She saw someone she could lift up and chose to do so. She made herself available to love and support whomever the Lord placed in her path, and she unknowingly was used by God to bring hope and peace into my seemingly crazy life.
I challenge all of us to follow her example. Who has God placed around you who might benefit from a “good word”? You never know the impact you may have.
