Encourage one another...

Our new FIAR selection this week is "The Hickory Chair" by Lisa Rowe Faustino. It's the sweet story of a young boy's relationship with his grandmother. Upon her passing, the family discovers that she'd hidden sweet notes among her belongings, indicating which of her possessions she wished for each of her loved ones to receive.

Upon the conclusion of the story this morning, our youngest son was inspired. He looked up at me and asked, "Can we write notes to one another and hide them around the house?" I thought he had an excellent idea, so before we knew it, each of us was secretly composing and hiding our notes of encouragement for the others.

I couldn't have guessed how meaningful this simple exercise would turn out to be. Or how timely. So many times, Mondays can be somewhat of a grind: Playing catch-up from the weekend. Trying to get back on task in school after a busy weekend. Reining in energetic boys. But here we were, searching for simple little notes that the other family members had written to bring a bit of extra joy into the day.

My heart nearly burst as I heard each of the boys read the notes they'd received from their brothers and me. Here's a sampling:

...from 7-year-old to

* 10-year-old brother ~ You're doing good taking care of Nipper (our new guinea pig)

* 12-year-old brother ~ You're doing good in AWANA.

* Mom ~ I'm praying for you.

The other notes were deemed "private" by the older boys, so I'll respect their privacy and not share them here. But my heart is encouraged that, though I don't often hear our boys expressing their love and appreciation for one another, they really do love, enjoy, and respect each other.

And on this Monday, that reminder has poured courage and strength into this mama's heart.