Believe

Who can guess the amount of good that comes from simply knowing someone believes in you?  Parents are in the most critical position to give these life changing expressions of belief to the little people in their care.  "You can do it!"  "I knew you could!"  "Of course you'll make it!"  "One more step!" These are just a few of the countless encouraging comments given in families every day that light the way to growth and progress. Those positive expressions are more powerful than we know. 

Both neighbors and strangers can also express belief in ways that lift us long beyond the time the words are said. I crossed a busy parking lot one day, holding my children's hands and shepherding children to the side of me after attending an event. As a car drove by my little family, (meaning little in stature, not little in number) a man leaned out the window of his family car and said, "My children and I think you look like a fun mom."  That made my day!  Well then, I think I will be a fun mom, I thought.

It was a simple but powerful expression of belief.  To have others believe in you is one of the greatest blessings on this earth.  But to believe in others is an invitation to an even greater treasure.

That is the challenge to myself and my invitation to you: To express belief to both loved ones in your home and the community near and worldwide in the simplest of ways. Tell your son, your husband, the neighbor and the stranger at the grocery store something good you see in them.  Express your gratitude, encouragement, delight and heartfelt belief in others efforts particularly in family and watch the goodness ripple outward. 

I believe in you. I believe in your family. I believe in the goodness of people everywhere who brilliantly live and give the kind of love that believes and sacrifices for another. Be that light in the darkness and the ripple in the pond.  Believe.