Have you heard the story of Naomi in the bible? Naomi was a woman who felt like she had lost everything - her home, her money, her husband, and both of her sons. When you lose so much like Naomi did, you aren't just sad, you're completely heartbroken. And that's exactly how Naomi felt - heartbroken. She had lost so many physical things, but she had also lost her hope. She wanted nothing more than to be able to just go home to Bethlehem.
Naomi's sons were married to two women named Ruth and Orpah. When her sons died, Naomi told these women she had nothing left to offer them so they should just go back to their own families. She had made the decision to travel back to Bethlehem alone. When Naomi told these women to return to their families, Orpah did leave, but Ruth stayed.
Ruth didn't have any money or power or any way to fix Naomi's situation. But what she could offer was herself. She could stay with her, support her, stand by her side, and walk with her all the way home to Bethlehem. she could be a friend and make sure Naomi didn't have to face anything on her own. And that is probably better than if she could have offered her money or anything physical.
Sometimes being there to encourage someone else means being their biggest fan and cheerleader and offering a helping hand when you can. Maybe it means encouraging them with your words - building someone up when they're tearing themselves down or others are saying hurtful things to them.
And sometimes encouraging someone means you don't say anything at all. Maybe they just need someone, a friend, to be there with them. To sit with them. To be present so they know they aren't doing or facing anything alone. This could be in your classroom, at home, on the bench with a teammate, or in the cafeteria at school. Maybe you can offer to sit with someone who is alone, or walk to class with someone who is walking by themselves.
Maybe you can lift your teammate up when they come off the field and they are beating themselves up over a mistake. Maybe your brother or sister just needs you to hang out with them, play a game with them, or just talk after they've had a really bad day at school. And sometimes, maybe someone just needs you to be there so they know they aren't alone.