Why Written Encouragement Still Matters
Terrie Todd reflects on a basket of encouragement cards and notes collected over years of church ministry. The article calls leaders, parents, and Christians to recover the practice of written encouragement as a meaningful way to strengthen others.
- Written notes can become lasting treasures people return to in difficult moments.
- Encouragement may be fading as communication becomes more electronic and temporary.
- A simple card or note can grant courage to someone who needs it most.
By Terrie Todd
As I left my employment with the church—after 25 years as administrative assistant, drama director, communications director, and finally director of creative arts—I was cleaning out my office. Among the items I packed up and took home with me was a basket filled with various encouragement cards and notes I’d received over the years.
Some of them are more than 10 years old, some are e-mails I’d printed, some are hilarious, and some move me to tears. They came from people I led, people I followed, people close to me, and people I barely know. But each is a treasure, something to be read and reread on days when I need it.
Is Written Encouragement Becoming a Lost Art?
As I looked through the basket again, I couldn’t help noticing the older cards far outnumbered the newer ones. Is written encouragement becoming a lost art? I thought of several possible reasons:
- Others appreciate our contributions when they are new, but after a while, certain things are just expected.
That’s entirely understandable. After all, when a baby starts to walk, we praise her efforts like crazy. But it would be ridiculous to still be praising her every step when she’s 10 years old. We understand that.
- Perhaps our contributions no longer measure up to standards set earlier and no longer seem worthy of encouragement cards.
- Perhaps cell phones, iPods, and e-mail have become our main means of communication, and perhaps what gets exchanged electronically dissolves from our memories as quickly as the text on the screen.
- Perhaps in society we have lost the art of encouraging one another, especially in writing.
I know I’m guilty. At one time I sent every actor in every church drama a handwritten note afterwards. In recent years, though, I’ve been pretty inconsistent. I don’t know why that is, except that after so many cards, maybe I thought my words had become meaningless.
I should know better. At a Christian writer’s conference in 2000, I came away with these words from Maxine Hancock: “Some of the most significant writing you will ever do will not be the published books and articles read by hundreds or thousands, but the individual cards and notes of encouragement expressing love and affirmation to people you know.”
A Note Can Grant Courage
Leaders, do your team members see you as an encouraging person? Are they getting notes from you, thanking them for a job well done? How about a warm hug and gracious kindness when the job may be less than well done?
Parents, when’s the last time you scribbled a note of thanks to your child’s teacher, coach, youth pastor, or ministry leader? Take it from someone who’s been there, you have no idea what a huge difference you can make in a leader’s day, someone who is investing in your child, possibly on a day when he or she needs it most.
When we encourage we grant courage to another person. What power that is! And don’t we all need more courage every day? This is not just a nice, thoughtful thing to do. Hebrews 10:25 (among other verses) tells us to “encourage one another” in various ways and for various reasons. I don’t know about you, but for me, a written word is worth a thousand spoken ones because I can keep the note and reread it whenever I like. Why else would I be hanging onto my basket?
And now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some notes to write.
Terrie Todd writes from Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, Canada, where she is an administrative assistant for the city. Terrie has 20 years of experience as a church drama leader, playwright, actor, and director.
