Encouraging the Discouraged

Two Girls at the Piano

I was feeling discouraged this week by a number of things: the kids’ being sick, negative comments made by complete strangers, and the rejection of one of my most precious manuscripts.

It’s funny how you realize, while facing adversity yourself, that you can’t seem to give yourself the advice you would give others in the same situation. Yet, what bore me up were all those little things my friends said to try to make me feel better. Even just the fact that they were trying was a help.

Often one feels put in an uncomfortable position when trying to think of what to say to a person in need of comfort. If you ever were on the silent end of a phone while a friend grieved the death of a loved one, you know what I mean.

But anything is better than nothing. Even what you might think of as “lame” helps to bolster. Those little pebbles fill in the gaps between the more substantial rocks. And when you speak the truth in love, that forms one of the boulders your friend will lean on for support.

“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one finds a treasure.
A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth.
A faithful friend is a life-saving remedy, such as he who fears God finds;
For he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend will be like himself.”
Sirach 6: 14-17 (NAB)

Rain over Snow

A Capriccio View Of A Town With Figures On A Frozen Canal

It’s a child’s worst nightmare: After a freshly fallen snow, it rains before they get to play in it. School goes on as usual, and there is nothing left with which to make a snowman when they get home. Ugly piles of dirty ploughed snow line the streets. Boots step into piles of slush rather than soft white fluffy stuff.

My eldest daughter woke me up at 6:00 yesterday morning, announcing a still-falling snow, with significant ground cover. Rather than rise to power up the computer to check the online status of school cancellations, I turned on the local news channels. I impatiently flipped from channel to channel, waiting for the byline to get through all the New Jersey school districts. Finally I found Suffolk County and was disappointed that our district was not listed. I told the kids to go on and get ready.

The school bus comes to our driveway, so the kids were able to play in the snow while waiting. It was a dress-down day, so they did not have to wear their uniforms. After a half-hour, my daughter came in. “We’ve been waiting out there for an hour! Can you check again?”

So I fired up the computer and found that there was a two-hour delay. I told the kids to come on in until the appointed time. They got another twenty minutes of snow play while waiting.

Later that morning, the rain started; it kept up all day long. I was so glad we had made the mistake of going out twice that morning while the snow was still fresh!

They were disappointed that afternoon, but today made up for it. My backyard was paved with pools of ice, and they got to go ice skating in their boots!