Go See A Movie - The One Year Daily Acts of Kindness Devotional

Go See a Movie

Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.

Proverbs 12:25

One year my law firm hired a recent law-school graduate, and she spent her first two months of work studying for the two-day Minnesota bar exam. You can’t practice law in Minnesota without passing the bar, and the thought of that two-day exam still makes me shudder. It was a miserable, stressful experience, and I have yet to meet an attorney who doesn’t get a little twitchy when recounting their own bar exam experience.

When I was prepping for my bar exam, a mentor told me to go see a movie during the evening in between exam days, instead of trying to cram and study my notes one last time. Realizing the wisdom of that advice, I went to the cheap theater near my apartment and spent that evening watching a brainless romantic comedy, munching on popcorn and escaping for a few hours from thoughts of the next day’s exam. My mentor was right; I arrived at the exam site the next morning feeling rested, relatively refreshed, and ready for day two.

As my new colleague’s exam date drew near, I wondered how best to encourage her. Deciding to pass on the advice I had been given, I wrote her a note of encouragement and explanation, included the funds necessary for her and her husband to go see a movie, and sent it off in the mail.

When she joined the firm full time after passing her exam, she expressed her gratitude for the advice and thoughtfulness. She said that it made her feel encouraged and supported as she sat for the exam, usually an anxiety-inducing experience.

Life is too hard not to celebrate others as they stretch to reach difficult goals—whether they are physical, educational, or spiritual. Encouraging others as they face a difficult task takes just a moment of our time, but it gives the receiver a boost, reduces their anxiety, and allows us to have a tiny part in their larger story—just as a community of believers is meant to do.

—Julie

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Send a note of encouragement to someone who is reaching for a big goal.