An Encouragement Card

by John C. Westervelt

A couple of weeks ago, running late for church, I found an empty seat behind a column near the back of the church for the 9:30 service. I noticed that the woman in front of me had written half a dozen encouragement cards. As I watched, she looked at the back of the bulletin and began to write another.

Near the end of the service, I handed this stranger a card that read, "I was taking roll for the elementary children, so I missed meeting you during the time for greeting. I want to be your friend so that if the need ever arises, I’ll receive an encouragement card."

In today’s mail, I could see a lime green card with a Methodist flame and cross in the corner mixed with my junk mail. The excitement was building even before I sat down at the kitchen table and reached for my glasses. The Asbury encouragement card read, "...a note to say thanks for your great stories and neat quotes in the Tidings...Love in Christ." The Encouragement Card Lady did not wait until my name was on the back of the bulletin.

Proverbs 12:25 states, "Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad." My new friend is the "good word" woman. What a wonderful ministry she has chosen.