March 2022

“Anxiety weighs down the heart, but a kind word cheers it up.”

– Proverbs 12:25

Receiving an affirmation is one of the best feelings. When someone says something kind to us, it can brighten our whole day. Think back to a time when someone offered you a word of kindness or encouragement. How did it change your mood? How did it affect you?

Truth be told, however, we tend to remember the negative things people say more than the positive ones. Even if we receive a hundred kind messages for every critique, it’s the critique that will stand out the most. And, if you’re anything like me, that critique will play over and over in your mind.

During the next six weeks of Lent, I invite you to practice offering affirmations more than critiques. Be intentional with your words of kindness, and perhaps make it a daily practice to say something kind and supportive to someone every day: whether it’s to your neighbor, your pastor, a colleague, a sibling, or the person handing you your coffee at the local cafe. When the world feels chaotic and hard, these kind words become like buoys that help us keep afloat in the midst of the storm.

I also encourage you to affirm yourself. Sometimes we are our loudest critics, but today I invite you to be your biggest cheerleader. Write down something kind someone said to you once. Maybe put it on a sticky note where you’ll see it regularly. And if you can’t think of anything, text or call someone you trust and ask them, “What is something you value or appreciate about me?” Then write down their answer below. Listen for God’s voice in their words.

Offer kind words to yourself, and to others, and let God speak through you.

With love,
Pastor Kelsey