229: Thankful For Encouraging People

With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner here in the US, I’ve been thinking about how grateful I am for the encouraging people I see all around me. People who encourage me by their thoughtfulness towards me, and also towards others. I’ve got some examples for you in today’s show that I think will encourage you. 

But first, I’m John Certalic, and you are listening to episode 229 of You Were Made for This, the podcast about enriching our lives by reflecting upon the relational moments of everyday life that reflect the character, image, and likeness of God. It’s what we were made for. We were made for this.

Thankful in New York City

I’ll start with an encouraging quote I came across the other day from a Substack email I got from Garrison Keillor. Now in his early 80s and having moved to New York City from his beloved St. Paul, Minnesota,  Keillor still writes and travels the country putting on truncated versions of his wildly popular A Prairie Home Companion. He writes in his email:

Old age is the age of gratitude, when I come to appreciate the beautiful details in life such as Lenny our doorman in New York who says, “Taxi?” as I come across the lobby pushing a suitcase and when I say, “Please,” he hustles out into the street and lets fly with a classic two-finger whistle like the shriek of a predator and a taxi makes a swift U-turn and pulls up and Lenny grabs the bag and throws it in the trunk.

How encouraging it is to hear someone say, Old age is the age of gratitude, when I come to appreciate the beautiful details in life.

I think I should like to live in an apartment building that has a doorman. Maybe even be the doorman who worked second shift in exchange for reduced rent. And maybe wear a classy uniform and get tips from wealthy tenants.

Thankful for kind people

Actually, I once was the caretaker of an upscale apartment building when we were first married, living in what used to be the servant’s studio apartment in exchange for reduced rent. I didn’t have a uniform, but I did get a few tips. Like the time Mrs. Rourke gave me a tip for changing a light bulb in her floor lamp.

And Mr. Reynolds used to tip me for taking his golf clubs down to the Greyhound bus station to be shipped to Florida just before he and Mrs. Reynolds headed South for the winter. So I do have the experience, which I will have to remember to include in my resume.

Thankful for feedback from our podcast listeners

While Garrison Keillor was encouraged by Lenny, his doorman, there are encouraging people in my life, particularly the listeners to this podcast. For example, last month a listener from Ohio wrote to me and said, 

I just want you to know how much I enjoyed your podcast where the girl was searching for her biological father. Have to listen to it again. [She’s referring to episode 169 from several years ago: “A Daughter’s Feel-Good Story About Her Father”]

Your podcasts are so refreshing, John…and you have a very soothing voice. A break from other podcasts for sure. Though they are interesting and beneficial.      ~ M.G.

Then there is the encouraging person serving as a missionary in Ecuador  who responded to the article I wrote recently, “Ask Questions Like Jesus Did.” He wrote, 

This blog post is very thought-provoking and reminds me of what a master conversationalist Jesus was. Every word counted for something. It definitely was not filler with Jesus. God bless you, John.         _ N.F.

An Interesting Bible study format

Among the other encouraging people in my life is another podcast listener who is from Wisconsin who wrote I wrote about asking questions like Jesus did. She responded with this:

I love this article you wrote about the questions Jesus asks.  Next semester, I am planning to have my Bible study group do a study on “the questions Jesus asked.”

I’m planning on having everyone in the group pick a question Jesus asked and lead a Bible study about that question. I love to get everyone in our group involved by leading a study. 

There are so many questions Jesus asked and he has so much to teach us in each question. I thought it would give everyone a chance to pick a question that caught their attention in some way spoke to them. 

I might just share your blog post with my group as a way of introducing this idea!  Thanks for expanding my thoughts!

~ K.P.

What a great idea for a bible study. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for this one.

Two responses to “Ask Thoughtful Questions Before It’s Too Late”

Moving on, two other encouraging people wrote to tell me about how an article I wrote the end of last month impacted them. This was the one entitled “Ask Thoughtful Questions Before It’s Too Late”

The first one is from a listener from Iowa who wrote:

I wish my grandpa was still alive! I would have liked to hear more about his childhood. He was so grouchy, but also kindhearted. And he became much nicer as I got into high school and beyond. 

I would like to know what made him act so grouchy when I was a kid. Maybe he hated his job? Or maybe he was just not great with kids? One day we will meet again, and hopefully I will hear more of his story. 

Maybe we should all write a memoir called “What made me so grouchy?” (I am currently working on figuring that out for myself!)         ~ - J.B.

Finally, the last encouraging response I received to the “Ask Thoughtful Questions Before It’s Too late” blog post comes from a listener in Arizona who writes,

Dear John,

I have appreciated your columns so much, and the topics you focus on. This one is especially meaningful, and I'm so glad you included it.

Grateful for your ministry, ~ L.G

I’m intrigued by this listener’s comment and was struck by the use of the word “so.”It’s used twice, once as an adjective and once as an adverb, as in “so much” and “So glad.” And then “especially”, as in “especially Meaningful.”

Apparently the “Ask Questions Before It’s Too Late” struck a nerve with this listener. I wonder what the backstory is to their comment. It appears to be something they felt deeply. Hmmm.

How encouraging people affect us

All of these comments from listeners have made me think about WHY I am thankful for encouraging people and why you will most likely be grateful for them, too. A couple of thoughts come to mind.

Encouraging people stand in stark contrast to the abundant supply of people who lack an emotional response to most things. They are also so different than the grumpy people among us that J.B. from Iowa who mentioned her grandfather. Encouraging people are a joy to be around. Negative, joyless people are discouraging to be with.

Encouraging people think about others besides themself. They want the best for someone. They share what they observe that’s positive in the life of another. Encouraging people express how another person has impacted them in a positive way. 

They motivate others to be the person God created them to be. Encouraging people inspire confidence in others to keep doing what they’re doing. They remind others of how they are making a difference in the world. Encouraging people lift our spirits and sometimes surprise us with their positive perception of things they see in us, that we might have difficulty seeing in ourselves.

And finally, encouraging people remind us that we can be encouraging to others, too. We can be a source of encouragement, and not just a recipient of it. 

I am thankful for this, and I hope you are, too.

Closing

As we close up shop for today, I hope your thinking was stimulated by today’s show, to be thankful for the encouraging people in you life, and to consider how you could be an encouragement to someone else. 

Well, that’s it for today. I’d love to hear your thoughts or reactions to today’s episode. Just go to the show notes for today’s program at JohnCertalic.com, then scroll down to the end to the “Leave a comment” box.

Finally, remember to spread a little relational sunshine around the people you meet this week. Spark some joy for them. Encourage them.  And I’ll see you again next time. Goodbye for now.

Other episodes or resources related to today’s shows

169: A Daughter’s Feel-Good Story About Her Father  

Ask Questions Like Jesus Did

Ask Thoughtful Questions Before It’s Too Late

Prior recent episode

228: Beyond the Landscape - The Beauty I Saw In Ireland

 

All past and future episodes can be found at JohnCertalic.com