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Inspirational Article
From
Joanne Lowe
Index of Writings by Joanne Lowe on Gospel Web
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Inspirational Article
From
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When I was at Wal-Mart this morning, I saw one of the customer service managers who always has a smile and a kind word. I told her that she had encouraged and cheered me several times over the last few years by her smile and kind words. She got tears in her eyes and said “Thank you for telling me this. Maybe I am doing something right”. We are so quick to complain about poor service yet often we don’t even think about saying thank you when they do something nice for us.
I saw another customer service manager this morning with whom I have been sharing my inspirational writings. She has a son who has cancer and many times I have asked her how her son is feeling. This morning when I was talking with her she said “I’ve been reading your writings and they have been a constant source of encouragement to me and to my son. When I read your writings, I know that the words come from your heart and I feel like Jesus is talking to me. Would you please remember my son in your prayers?”
We don’t know what is going on in people’s lives. We can’t see the horror, desperation, agony, pain and heartaches that they are hiding behind the masks that they are wearing. All of us wear masks at times because we don’t want people to know we are hurting. Why is that? I think it is because we’re afraid of being judged and criticized.
Some people have told me that it is a sign of weakness to cry. If that is true, which it isn’t, then Jesus was weak because He also wept. Some people think that we shouldn’t cry when someone dies because we know we will see them again in Heaven. Jesus wept when His friend Lazarus died. He didn’t weep because Lazarus was dead; He wept because He loved Lazarus and He loved Lazarus’ family and it hurt Him to see them crying (John 11: 33 – 36). Jesus has a very tender compassionate heart and He dearly loves us. We are precious to Him and He loves us so much that He died for us.
There are some people who have told me that they don’t need anybody or anything. That is a lie straight from the pits of hell. All of us need encouragement and fellowship with each other. The person who says that he or she doesn’t need anybody is deceiving himself or herself. Even Jesus when He went to the garden to pray wanted companionship so He took His disciples with Him. If Jesus needed companionship, how much more you and I need it.
Some days we need people to smile at us. We need them to give us a hug and reminds us that Jesus loves us. We know that He loves us but sometimes because of pain and difficult situations we forget. When is the last time you went out of your way to thank someone and express appreciation to him or her? More important, when is the last time you thanked Jesus for all He has done for you? Have you hugged someone today either in person or by a letter, email or over the telephone? If not, you are making Jesus sad.