Encourage One Another
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[January 28, 2011]
--"Therefore encourage one
another and build each other up … ." - 1 Thessalonians 5:11
While watching the running of the Boston Marathon, I was impressed
with the spectators and their cheering on of the runners. Some
people stayed late into the evening to make sure every runner
received cheers as they crossed the finish line. That’s what we are
to one another. We need one another to stand and cheer for us when
our legs feel like rubber and our chest is on fire. When we would
give almost anything just to be able to stop and quit, we need
encouragers.
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On May 24, 1965, a 13 1/2 foot boat slipped quietly out of the
marina in Mass. Its destination was England. It would be the
smallest boat ever to make the trip. Its name was Tinkerbelle! And
its pilot was Robert Manry. He had been a copyeditor for the
Cleveland Plain Dealer for ten years and was bored, so he took a
leave of absence to fulfill his secret dream.
Robert Manry was afraid, though not of the ocean. He was afraid of
all those people who would try to talk him out of the trip. So he
didn’t tell many people, just a few relatives and his wife, Virginia
who was his greatest supporter and encourager.
The trip was anything but pleasant. He spent many sleepless nights
trying to cross the shipping lanes without getting run down and
sunk. Weeks at sea caused his food to become tasteless. Loneliness
caused him to have hallucinations. His rudder broke three times.
Storms swept him overboard, and had it not been for the rope he had
tied around his waist, he would never have made it back on board.
Finally, after 78 days, he sailed into Falmouth,
England.
During his many nights, he fantasized about what he would do once he
arrived in England. He
expected simply to check into a hotel, eat dinner alone, and then
the next morning to see if the Associated Press might be interested
in his story.
But word of his approach had spread far and wide. To his amazement,
three hundred vessels, with horns blasting, escorted TINKERBELLE
into port. And 40,000 people stood screaming and cheering him to
shore. Robert Manry became an overnight hero and his story has been
told around the world. However, Robert Manry didn’t know at the time
that a quiet encourager had sent the word out and because of his
wife’s actions, people poured out to welcome him to England.
Standing on the dock was his wife Virginia. She had refused to be
critical and negative about her husband’s trip. She gave him
constant encouragement, which enabled him to pursue and complete his
dream!
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"Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise
brings healing." (Proverbs 12:18)
You have this power! Your speech has the power to revive us: to
renew our strength, to refresh our spirit, to lift us out of
depression. That’s what encouragement can do. Wouldn’t it be a shame
to have such power and not use it?
[Ron Otto, Lincoln Christian Church]
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2011/Jan/19/images/ads/current/lcu_lda072810.png)
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