Key Bible Verse: My goal is that they may be encouraged and knit together by strong ties of love (Colossians 2:2). Bonus Reading: Acts 15:30-35

A dozen or so of us stood around in the shade near our grade school baseball backstop waiting for our Peewee League coach to drive up. Harv, the least rowdy and quietest kid, was there. I stuck to the outer fringe of the group, trying to stay out of the way.

Then someone noticed it. My glove. It was a play glove, the kind that comes with its own plastic ball. It wasn't made for catching real baseballs. I shrank.

The guys started throwing it around, trying it on, scoffing at it. A couple even stomped on it. My spirits took a severe kicking until God gave Harv the heart to lift me up.

"It doesn't matter," he said, "We'll play catch."

A couple of seasons later, another player showed me grace on the diamond. The pitch came in right over the plate, a little high, a little slow. I swung with all my might and sent the ball sailing over the right-center fence. My first home run!

As I rounded third base, I had to slow down for a kid in my way. It was John Arrington, the dimple-cheeked, always-smiling pitcher of the other team. He said something about a nice swing and congratulated me on my homer. The weird thing was that he meant it.

—Keith Long in Room to Grow

My Response: What could I do today to turn someone's day around?

Thought to Apply: One kind word can warm up three winter months.—Japanese proverb

Adapted from Room to Grow (Hendrickson, 1999) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Lord, help me to be a true encourager to someone around me who needs a lift.

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