"Hold hands when crossing the street."

"Hold hands when crossing the street."
This is advice for all ages even though we all learned it in kindergarten according to Robert Fulghum in his book, Everything I Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.

Hold hands when facing danger or stepping into uncharted waters. Have someone with you when finding your way in a new city or receiving a diagnosis.  A trusted friend; a spouse; even your pastor.  Don't go in there alone.

For humans were not meant to be alone.  God recognized this.  In Genesis 1 God makes male and female at the same time.  In Genesis 2, the second story of creation, God realizes that animals are not exactly what the lone human creature needs, and so a second is made, and we have male and female, two parts of one whole.

Perhaps that is why relationship and companionship are critical to our well-being; when we are alone too often, we feel like that missing sock......a little lost in the world.  So we reach out and hold the hand of the other, if but for a short time.

Once we recognize our own need for the other, encouraging others becomes a calling.  "Well done."  "Enjoy your day."  "Thanks for your help."  "You did that so well."  These are the most basic of the tools of relationship and the more folks pick them up and use them, the kinder this world becomes.

Are you surprised that our faith benefits from encouragement as well?  No matter what our age, it makes us stronger to have someone nearby who has been through this particular storm, who has been overwhelmed with doubt, who has lost their ability to pray and found it again.

Faith communities are especially fertile for encouragement.  Our relationships are founded in Jesus and his love of others, forgiveness of others, and desire to bring healing to others.  So, parents find encouragement from other parents as they raise their children in the faith and learn how to be gracious and forgiving.  Aging couples look to others like them to navigate the spiritual rapids that are both new and dangerous. We pray for one another.  We help carry the other's burdens if only for a little while.

Encouraging others can be a particular gift of the Spirit and if you have been blessed, you have known someone who simply believes in you and your faith more than you do.  However, the everyday version of encouraging one another is a tool for building and strengthening our faith, a tool each of us can pick up and use often.