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For the past 4 years, I have spent time every night creating small notes of encouragement for my children when they go to school the next day. These notes started as a simple saying or quote. However, over the years, they have evolved to include a hand-drawn cartoon. Most nights they are different animals, but on special occasions something a little different, like a pilgrim for Thanksgiving. Everyone, though, is designed to encourage them to keep going and to be strong and courageous every single day.
We have decided that we want to start providing these notes of encouragement for others to use or inspire others to create their own because our belief is that encouragement is like a seed that can grow into a beautiful apple tree. Too often we don’t know what a child, a loved one, a neighbor, a coworker, or even the person who makes our coffee at Starbucks is going through. But when we start to plant seeds of encouragement in our community, we start to grow something. Because when seeds are planted in nutrient-rich soil and given a little water and sunlight, life begins. What once seemed dormant starts to grow.
When I was about five years old, I remember opening my lunchbox at school and finding encouraging messages from my mom. While the messages were simple, they have stayed with me throughout my life. My mom would sometimes write reminders like, “Look straight ahead and do not get distracted.” She reminded me on the harder days that “every single morning brings fresh mercy, that you don’t have to worry about yesterday.” On test days, she would write, “Take a deep breath. I am praying for you.”
One of my favorites was her saying, “peppermint, prayer, and protein,” or, as I have come to know them, the three Ps. A little motivation and a whole lot of love wrapped up in a handwritten note. The napkins were small tokens of encouragement. But they planted a lasting impact in my heart.
Over time, I realized these messages of encouragement helped build my self-confidence and belief. They became part of my thinking and part of my identity. My mother helped me understand that the words we consistently place in front of someone can quietly become the voice they hear on their hardest days.
No matter the season of life, the words stayed with me. They became muscle memory for my spirit. I still remember them on days when I felt uncertain.
Some days, those messages impacted me more than others. Maybe you know that feeling too. The quiet relief we feel when we’re seen and loved.
When my children started school, I wanted them to have a tangible sense that they are seen. So I began with notes of encouragement that started as simple notes written on napkins, tucked into lunchboxes like my mom. Soon, I began adding little drawings beside the words. Hearts. Flowers. Different shapes. Before long, my children started to challenge me with increasingly creative requests. Birds. Giraffes. Dogs. Even a bearded dragon.
Often late at night, after they were asleep, I sat at the kitchen table, thinking through their requests and praying over what I should write. The napkins worked for a while, but I quickly learned that drawing detailed pictures and writing longer messages on thin napkin paper was no longer working. The paper would rip, or marker colors would bleed right through.
So, I transitioned to paper. It gave space for fuller words and brighter colors. It gave room for greater creativity and helped me discover something I didn’t know. I found out that I loved to draw. I loved pairing images with words of life. My husband often sits beside me in the evenings while I draw, enjoying the quiet time we share and helping to come up with sayings or clever little phrases.
Those evenings became their own kind of gift. What started as notes for our children became moments of connection for us.
My children eventually began sharing their notes and drawings with classmates and teachers. Then their friends started making requests. A mermaid. A favorite animal. A special phrase just for them. What began at my kitchen table made its way into other people’s stories in ways I never planned and could not have predicted.
The thing about encouragement is it finds its way into corners you never intended to reach. While we hope you choose to use our notes of encouragement, encouragement does not require a note or a drawing.
Encouragement is one of the simplest, most heartfelt ways we get to love one another, even when we have good and bad days. Oftentimes we don’t always know what someone else is going through. But we can choose to respond with life-enhancing words, and we have the opportunity to help turn a bad day into a good or better day. John Maxwell likes to say that “encouragement is the oxygen to the soul.”
We are reminded of this in 1 Thessalonians 5:11, which says, “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing” (1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV). Our words truly carry the power to improve lives, even if we don’t always see it. Similar to acts of kindness, there is a ripple effect that can travel further than we will ever know.
The good news is that encouraging doesn’t require perfect words or a grand gesture. It’s usually the small, consistent things that can mean the most.
Be Intentional. Often, the best encouragement comes from intentionally taking the time to give someone a compliment or a word of affirmation. Being intentional takes effort and shows someone that we love and care for them.
Truly Listen. Taking the time to listen and staying quiet long enough to truly hear the answer allows us to add value to our encouragement. It helps us be specific and make our words more personal.
Do it publicly and privately. Encouragement does not require a certain situation or place; it can happen anywhere. Sometimes, a private word can be just as impactful as praising someone in public. It can also build trust and show someone that you truly care and aren’t simply doing it for show.
Keep Reminders. Throughout our house, we have often found value in keeping letters, notes, cards, and encouraging sayings that we have received, printed, or even purchased from a store. I have also framed words and sayings that I found particularly encouraging. Keeping these reminders gives us something to return to on a rough day when we need a little encouragement and feel like everything is going wrong. In fact, I have had the opportunity to see my children keep every note I have created for them over the years so they can go back and look through them.
Over the years, I have come to believe that lasting impacts can be as simple as a note, a kind word, or an act of generosity at just the right time. Often you never know how one encouraging word might affect someone. So today, take the opportunity to download a note and give it to someone, or tell someone a compliment. You never know how it may impact their day, and let us choose to “think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works” (Hebrews 10:24 NIV).