ARIEL FORTUNE | Opinion Editor
My roommate needed a friend this week. I love her and I am so proud of who she is and the strength she has had but I do not think she would believe it unless I wrote about it in thiscolumn. So Lindsay, I’m proud of you.
Why is it that we forget to encourage or become so consumed in our own lives that we neglect to notice others? All around us there are people doing and achieving incredible feats. In running each of our own races, why do we forget to be a part of everyone else’s? In Hebrews 3, it says to encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today (NIV). There are some days where I do recognize some of my peer’s achievements but rarely do I acknowledge them. This is ironic considering there are so many people in my life that I am genuinely proud of.
My sixteen-year-old sister made the Brazilian national soccer team and in their first official match versus Bolivia, she earned a starting position. My editor-in-chief not only completed the L.A. marathon, she ran it in record time. Even the way my best friend has handled the last two weeks after ending a two year relationship astounds me.
Directly, these situations themselves have nothing to do with me. I am not as talented of a soccer player as my younger sister, I did not run 26.2 miles last Sunday and my relationship is not ending, but the role these people play in my life gives me every bit the license to be genuinely proud of them.
In the Bible, we are to encourage one another daily. That means every single day. When we are proud of people, we should let them know. We should become a part of their lives and show them that what they do matters.
The L.A. Marathon last Sunday elicited nearly 25, 000 runners and many more spectators. At almost any leg in the race, runners were bombarded by thousands of people screaming their name, holding encouraging signs or pushing them onward.
How many times a day do you encounter endless encouragement and people holding up signs with your name?
How many times do you go through your day without any crowd—or anyone?
At Starbucks this morning, a professor recognized me for something I had accomplished last semester in Oxford. I did not even know he had heard about it, but his positive words lifted my spirit the entire day. Encouragement is such an elemental subject, but it has monumental value.
Instead of being jealous, instead of being busy, instead of being silent about the things those around us accomplish, be proud. And tell them.
