Well, a Monday not so long ago, I didn’t have a blog post. My creativity was gone from the scramble to get He’s Making Diamonds published, and I had long since run out of prescheduled blog posts dues to health issues in the past. I decided that what with my doctor appointment that day and everything going on, I’d just wait and post it on Tuesday.
But come Tuesday, I still had no idea what to write. Usually, I try to write about the things God has been teaching me, but that Tuesday, most of what I had were questions and struggles. I was emotionally hurting and didn’t know what I could write that would be an encouragement to those around me.
The thing was I wasn’t the only one struggling. My friend had been having a rough day, too. Well, a rough week. She was hurting and struggling and I wanted her to know that she wasn’t alone. That I would fight with her. I’d told her over and over again, but I wanted to tell her again, and I wanted her to know I was serious. So I wrote an open letter to her (which you can read here).
And then… three posts and several hours of writing later, I realize it had unintentionally turned into a four-part series. (You can read parts two and three by clicking on the numbers.)
Each of us has someone around us that is hurting. And we long to know how to help them. In parts two and three, we discussed some important things to know when it comes to fighting with people, but here I want to give some practical ideas of exactly what you can do to help those around you in their battles. This list includes things you can do whether you live in the same house as them or whether you live on the opposite side of the globe.
- Send them a worship song
- Send them an uplifting quote
- Send them a Bible verse
- Buy them a book (Kindle books deliver immediately and are usually cheaper) (also keep in mind brain fog)
- Bring them flower
- Mail them a card (it doesn’t have to be fancy, you can even just write out some Scriptures on paint chips and stick them in an envelope)
- Record yourself praying for them, or just type it out and send it to them
- Send them an ecard
- Bake them something (keep in mind food allergies) or just buy their favorite candy
- Do a chore they hate for them
- Buy or rent them a movie for them
- Watch a movie with them (if you need movie suggestions, see my post here)
- Get them any type of small gift
- Give them a balloon
- Do their hair or paint their nails
- Take the time to simply sit with someone and talk
- Compliment them
- Take them to get ice cream
- Give them a hug (simple, but forgotten surprisingly often)
- Pray for them (really do it, don’t just say you will)
- Pray with them
- Listen to them rant
- Give them tissues while they cry
- Ask how you can help
- Help them in any way you see they might possibly need it
- Shield them from questions they may not want to answer
- Talk to those around them and help them understand things they may be missing about the situation (be careful about this one though, it can tend to backfire sometimes)
- Take care of yourself (seriously, you want to help someone? Take. care. of. yourself.)
Well, there you are! Please know that this list is not at all extensive, I just wanted to give you some ideas. And not all of these will be helpful for everyone. For example, although worships songs are usually a great way to encourage me, sometimes I can’t handle the sensory overload. So tailor this to each person and situation. But gentle, but committed and dependable.