Say only what helps, each word a gift.
— Ephesians 4:29, The Message
Listening to a radio ministry program in my car the other day, I heard the interviewee talking about the school where he works. And about a person there whose job title is “Director of Encouragement.”
“That’s his REAL title?” the interviewer asked, echoing my own amazement. “He actually gets paid to do that?”
I turned up the volume, interested to hear his answer. “Yes,” he laughed, “that’s his real 
title.” He went on to fill in his job description:
– Writing notes, cards, e-mails to let others know someone is thinking of them, praying for them, rooting for their hopes and dreams
–Cheering up the lonely, disheartened or ill, just being there for them
– Blessing others with “you can do it,” “you’re going to make it,” and lifting them to believe in their own gifts
– Spending days thinking of ways to share a kind or beautiful word, a thoughtful act –
And getting paid for it. Wow.
How, I’d love a job like that, I thought. It’s what I want my writing to pour out…
But then, isn’t that something that should be part of any job we hold? As I heard another minister this week say, compliments we think in our head can’t be blessings until we give them voice. Reaching out to others and speaking life into their day. With words, a smile, an admiring comment. A gift we can all give freely, every day… like a whispering breeze that sets chimes to music.
That’s why Cait’s answers to my questions below put a song in my heart too… I love to see how, even at 13, she has a heart for sharing her “apples of gold…”
What would you like to do when you grow up?
Cait: I am thinking about being a teacher. Teaching certainly requires creativity! I really love little kids too, and having a good teacher is vital in making kids want to learn!
If I choose to be a teacher, I will try to work mainly on encouragement. My mom was a teacher too, and she always says the quickest way to make a student hate school is to make them feel bad about themselves. But if you try to pull out the good in them, it will make them want to persevere.
That’s so true! It always breaks my heart to see little kids who don’t 
see themselves as good or able or gifted. I think you’d make a wonderful teacher because I can see you looking for ways to encourage and help them excel in their gifts.
You have a real heart for caring about others, Cait. Is that a quality you look for in choosing your friends?
Cait: Yes, I suppose it could be said that I’m “picky” about friends! I have very few friends, but the ones I do have, I’m very close to.
I always look for girls who are humble; they’re confident (but not cocky) in themselves and therefore don’t need to boast. My friends and I always try to be supportive of each other.
Second, I love to laugh! If you can’t laugh with friends, then there’s no point. My kith and I laugh ALL the time. We bust up about the craziest things, but that’s the best part!
I look for girls who share my values. My best friends belong to the same faith, and we (mostly) share the same opinions. That’s not to say that I want my bosom buddies to be the perfect clones of me, but it’s easier to relate to and comfort each other when we both “get it.”
What’s your favorite thing to do with your free time?
Cait: Spend time with my family and friends. It doesn’t matter what we’re doing, as long as I’m doing it with a friend! I especially love board games, the outdoors and watching movies together.
What is something you especially enjoy doing with your family?
Cait: Family vacations are the best. We just trekked to Texas to see my aunt and her family. We drove, so there was lots of time for laughter and talking. We made some hilarious memories – it was one of the best trips we’ve ever taken.
About two years ago, we started a “travel journal.” We record all of our funny stories, and descriptions of the landmarks we’ve seen. It’s so much fun to reminisce on old vacations. Those are things I never forget!
Hi Pam, you are so right about how encouragement should be apart of any job that we hold. At my job we have secret pals so that you know that someone is thinking about you. It is fun to surprise our secret pal and come up with fun things to brighten their days during different parts of the year. I actually brightened a co-workers day by delivering a gift and card but she didn’t know if it was from me or from her secret pal. She did tell me that whoever it was from to tell them thank you. Nope she is not my secret pal but she won’t find that out until we have the party in which we find out who our secret pals were. We can never know how much a word, gift or card can mean to someone it just might make a cloudy day full of sunshine.
That’s fun that you do that throughout the year, and not just at Christmas. I was listening to someone the other night who was talking on this subject. He told several stories about how a word spoken at just the right time could change a life… how when he was a young man he would often play at a gym and greet a loner kid with “great to see you tonight.” The kid never responded, but he kept saying that to him. Twenty five years later the man came to him and told him that he had been the first person ever to make him feel wanted…just by those words… and how it changed his life. Yes, we never know what a simple word can mean
Encourage – at its heart it means to put courage in, to embolden, to make stronger and braver. One of the most gorgeous, most necessary things we get to do on this planet.
And you do it my friend!
Cxx
Thanks, Claire. That means a lot… from one encourager to another!
I had never thought about encouragement being a spiritual gift until it came up in a church class I took a few years ago, but I can see now how God has put that heart in me since childhood. Thanks for your always “emboldening cups of tea!” 
Hope your packing and moving are going smoothly and praying joy on your new adventure.