Kind words
“Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless” (Mother Teresa). Do you remember some kind words spoken to you years ago? Perhaps they changed your outlook and attitude, or even the direction of your life. Today is an opportunity to speak or write kind words. Will we use this opportunity or waste it? Be creative in your words. Instead of “Have a nice day” try “Have a 
blessed day.” Instead of a perfunctory thank-you to a cashier, give a sincere compliment about the service. If you’re a teacher, take the time to write words of affirmation on papers. If you’re a wife or husband, put a loving note in a place where it will be found. In our age of texting when whole sentences are reduced to a few letters, give some extra thought to whatever you write today. The echoes may be endless.
I remember in high school being told, “Find a service job, you are not like your sister or brother,. You are not college material.” All I ever wanted to be was a mother, wife, and nurse. I am back in scool, because my girls are now grown women. When students get down, when a professor is not respectful in replying, I remind the other students, “It is okay, we are alright. God has a plan. We have come this far. Together we can do this. Trust the plan. ” Sometimes we just need positive reinforcement. God qualifies those he calls, he does not call the qualified. I make sure I remind them and myself, we are all special.
Lately, when in a store, I’ve been “on a mission” to ask for a manager if I receive really good service at the checkout or from someone assisting me. You should see the sparkle in the eye of the helper as I praise him or her in front of the manager! And usually the managers are equally delighted because so often the only thing they hear are the complaints. The kind words boost morale and I hope give some incentive to continue offering good work even when it feels like it goes unrewarded.