It had been a long and exhausting week meeting people at a conference last year and, as I boarded a train to meet my family in New York, tears rolled down my face. I was overwhelmed, exhausted, and frankly, so done with drama. It was basically that moment when nothing goes as expected and takes a turn for the worse.
I’m rolling my luggage off the train and having this inward confrontation with myself about what I could’ve done to make the whole circumstance better. I finally take my sunglasses off as I approach the tunnel and realize what a wreck I must look like. This stranger approaches me, taps me on the shoulder, stares at me for a moment and says something like, “I don’t know what’s going on in your life right now, but I wanted to say that you mean so much to those in your life, you are beautiful, and I never stop to say these things because everyone is in such a hurry with their lives, but I feel as though you needed to hear this today and try to follow my own advice of speaking what’s on my mind.”
Interrupting my story with the point. This was a day when I thought it couldn’t become worse. I thought I’d wrecked someone else’s life, maybe my own, and was having panic attacks every few minutes about different choices I could have made. This woman, from who knows where, took time out of her day to, not only give me an encouraging word, but also gave me some advice. I interpreted that advice into the phrase, speak truth.
It’s over a year later and I still can remember every detail, scene, and expression that occurred because it impacted me so much. From a firsthand experience, her words were of great encouragement, yes. But she taught me the impact of something that I had already known for a very long time: speaking truth is vital in today’s world. It is so easy to get caught up in our own negative thoughts, others’ remarks about ourselves, or even the issues of social media comparison, and for that reason, we simply must be more encouraging, friends! I believe that if we speak truth, the lies that we believe so easily slowly fade away.
What has inspired you this week? Have you had the opportunity to speak truth to others day-to-day lately? I want to encourage you to go out of your way this week to say something of value and truth to a stranger- you never know what kind of impact might be made or the ripple effect that can follow.
‘If you see something beautiful in someone, speak it.’
Leave a Reply