21. I Am A Life-Long Encourager

This blog post goes in the category of “things I feel are important in my life” rather than a life lesson to live by. Though… I do so encourage living this way, but I know it’s not everyone’s thing. :-)

One of my favorite times of year is graduation season. I LIVE for graduations! I have heard I’m in the minority on this. I didn’t quite realize it wasn’t something people really liked, until they saw me posting pictures of how many graduations I go to. People would thank me as if I’d done something hard, challenging or brave. But here’s the thing, I love celebrating people! I LOVE being there in this moment that cultivates the student’s (and really the whole family’s) effort. Each one of those young people have worked hard. I get joy out of seeing the youth I work with, but really all of these youth, reaching this incredible milestone! And I think my presence communicates to them that what they did mattered. Their work didn’t go unseen.

Here’s what I love about graduations:

• Seeing the different feels and cultures of the schools - this comes across in the speeches, the music, the energy, the families, the teachers and more.

• The speeches themselves - I will say that pre-pandemic the speeches were a little bit the same. They featured statements like “reach for the stars”, “be anything you want to be”, and more. But, through the Black Lives Matter movement and through the pandemic, the speeches now have a different feel. It’s not that they aren’t encouraging or celebratory, but they have a bit of a more “real life” feel to it. They call us to action, to justice, and to continue working for change. So, I enjoy hearing where the youth of today are at and what things they’re feeling about high school and about the future.

• The pride the family has - As I watch the graduations, I often reflect on what the parents and siblings might be feeling during this moment. They might be remembering their little baby that now is somehow a grown adult and graduating. The sibling might be wondering what life will be like now that their sibling is headed off somewhere else. It’s beautiful to see the whole family and what this all means for them too.

• And I just freakin’ love to yell for the graduate and be that cheering squad! “WOO-HOO! YOU DID IT! I SEE YOU! WAY TO GO!”

• I also love being the photographer for the family to help capture this amazing day!

Now, I will say that being an encourager doesn’t have to mean that you have to go to graduations if that’s not your jam. I just share that because going to graduations comes from the heart of something I have learned about myself. I LOVE people and I love to cheer people on! I love those people you can call and just tell them about something awesome you did or that’s happening and they’re just simply happy for you and excited to hear about your life. And I want to be that for other people! I seriously would consider running a service that was just this! A call center for JOY! Come on! Wouldn’t that be awesome!?

Last week my friend asked me to help her with something. A friend of hers was getting married, but due to some health issues, the bride and groom had to cancel their big formal wedding. Instead, they did a small beach wedding and my friend had been asked to do the photography for it. She wanted my help to make sure we got different perspectives. Neither of us are professional photographers. But both of us have a passion for photography, for people and for capturing important moments in life. I knew I had to say yes to this opportunity! This is the kind of thing I live for - celebrating people! I don’t know these people at all. But, I know these are two people who love each other who are facing some big life things together. To be there to help capture this important milestone in their life, to offer celebration and to help make this day as special as it could be, was just truly an honor. I didn’t need to know them to care about them and their special day!

One time in my early 20’s I was on an airplane and as we got close to landing, I got to chatting with the woman next to me. She shared about coming to Seattle to visit her son. She then also shared how nervous she was to fly and was dreading the landing. Well you know what we did, we held hands. We did it together. I was happy to offer support and encouragement and be there with her in this moment of fear for her. After landing safely, she thanked me. We said goodbye. I saw her on the curb as my ride drove away, we enthusiastically waved goodbye again!

People just want to be known, loved and seen. They want to know that their life matters. And I think there’s a real gift when the people who don’t “have” to love you, love you! And for whatever reason, this is a deep value for me. I value people. I value their stories, their uniqueness, their journey. I value being able to be a part of it. If I can encourage and uplift someone and help them on their journey, that means something to me. It’s not hard to want the best for you!

So, I am calling myself a life-long encourager. I think I will always hold this value of wanting to celebrate and encourage others. And I think that’s a good thing. And… I think we could all live into this more. I think we could all use that outlook on life, but also… I think sometimes it’s hard for us to ask for encouragement and celebration. We don’t want to be seen as boastful or self-centered. So, we hide our talents, we don’t share about cool things we’re doing, or about awards we’ve received. Don’t do it! Don’t hide it! Celebrate yourself and let us celebrate you! And we’ll say: “WOO-HOO! YOU DID IT! I SEE YOU! WAY TO GO!”

Reflection:

• Who is your person (or who are your people) that you can call just because?

• Who might call you to just simply share?

• Who are three people you could call or send a text to right now to say to them: “hey! you’re awesome!” … now go do that!