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229: Thankful For Encouraging People

229: Thankful For Encouraging People

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 With Thanksgiving Day just around the corner here in the US, I've been thinking about how grateful I am for the encouraging people I see all around me. People who encourage me by their thoughtfulness towards me, and also towards others. I've got some examples for you in today's show that I think will encourage you. But first, I'm John Certalic, and you are listening to episode 229 of You Were Made for This, the podcast about enriching our lives by reflecting upon the relational moments of everyday life that reflect the character, image, and likeness of God. It's what we were made for. We were made for this. Thankful in New York City I'll start with an encouraging quote I came across the other day from a Substack email I got from Garrison Keillor. Now in his early 80s and having moved to New York City from his beloved St. Paul, Minnesota, Keillor still writes and travels the country putting on truncated versions of his wildly popular A Prairie Home Companion. He writes in his email: Old age is the age of gratitude, when I come to appreciate the beautiful details in life such as Lenny our doorman in New York who says, "Taxi?" as I come across the lobby pushing a suitcase and when I say, "Please," he hustles out into the street and lets fly with a classic two-finger whistle like the shriek of a predator and a taxi makes a swift U-turn and pulls up and Lenny grabs the bag and throws it in the trunk. How encouraging it is to hear someone say, Old age is the age of gratitude, when I come to appreciate the beautiful details in life. I think I should like to live in an apartment building that has a doorman. Maybe even be the doorman who worked second shift in exchange for reduced rent. And maybe wear a classy uniform and get tips from wealthy tenants. Thankful for kind people Actually, I once was the caretaker of an upscale apartment building when we were first married, living in what used to be the servant's studio apartment in exchange for reduced rent. I didn't have a uniform, but I did get a few tips. Like the time Mrs. Rourke gave me a tip for changing a light bulb in her floor lamp. And Mr. Reynolds used to tip me for taking his golf clubs down to the Greyhound bus station to be shipped to Florida just before he and Mrs. Reynolds headed South for the winter. So I do have the experience, which I will have to remember to include in my resume. Thankful for feedback from our podcast listeners While Garrison Keillor was encouraged by Lenny, his doorman, there are encouraging people in my life, particularly the listeners to this podcast. For example, last month a listener from Ohio wrote to me and said, I just want you to know how much I enjoyed your podcast where the girl was searching for her biological father. Have to listen to it again. [She's referring to episode 169 from several years ago: "A Daughter's Feel-Good Story About Her Father"] Your podcasts are so refreshing, John…and you have a very soothing voice. A break from other podcasts for sure. Though they are interesting and beneficial. ~ M.G. Then there is the encouraging person serving as a missionary in Ecuador who responded to the article I wrote recently, "Ask Questions Like Jesus Did." He wrote, This blog post is very thought-provoking and reminds me of what a master conversationalist Jesus was. Every word counted for something. It definitely was not filler with Jesus. God bless you, John. _ N.F. An Interesting Bible study format Among the other encouraging people in my life is another podcast listener who is from Wisconsin who wrote I wrote about asking questions like Jesus did. She responded with this: I love this article you wrote about the questions Jesus asks. Next semester, I am planning to have my Bible study group do a study on "the questions Jesus asked." I'm planning on having everyone in the group pick a question Jesus asked and lead a Bible study about that question. I love to get everyone in our group involved by leading a study. There are so many questions Jesus asked and he has so much to teach us in each question. I thought it would give everyone a chance to pick a question that caught their attention in some way spoke to them. I might just share your blog post with my group as a way of introducing this idea! Thanks for expanding my thoughts! ~ K.P. What a great idea for a bible study. I wish I could be a fly on the wall for this one. Two responses to "Ask Thoughtful Questions Before It's Too Late" Moving on, two other encouraging people wrote to tell me about how an article I wrote the end of last month impacted them. This was the one entitled "Ask Thoughtful Questions Before It's Too Late" The first one is from a listener from Iowa who wrote: I wish my grandpa was still alive! I would have liked to hear more about his childhood. He was so grouchy, but also kindhearted. And he became much nicer as I got into high school and beyond. I would like to know what made him act so ...
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