Mom Heart Moments #72

Encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

I HAVE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS that if I want my family and friends to feel they are a priority in my life, I must regularly set aside time to invite them into my space. Preparing myself with an expectation of being interrupted has helped me host many at my teatime table who needed to feel the touch and hear the words of God in their moment of need.

There’s a limit to what I can do to protect those I love from what the world throws at them. But I can listen and help them sort out their thoughts and feelings —if I choose to make myself available when they need me.

Availability became a habit of my life over many years. Making myself available to my loved ones when they needed me was a choice I learned to make again and again —a choice that helped forge a deep connection with each of them. I became the confidant for my children and others, so that as they grew older, they would know they could come to me at any time.

Who taught me this? Jesus did. Immediate availability was the way He operated. He answered questions when they were asked. He made a point of going off alone with His disciples to provide them with focused attention. And often He did this over food. In fact, He gave the most strategic talks of His life as His best friends and most devoted disciples were filling their stomachs with warm food (what could be better than fish over an open fire?), and they sat listening to His wisdom as their ease and comfort opened their hearts.

We would do well, I think, to follow His example.

Encouragement means to give courage to someone, which is important if we are to stay strong in the Christian life. What does today’s verse reflect about our responsibility to invest in our loved ones?