This last weekend was a little hard for me. I ended up cancelling a group on that one site because it wasn’t sparking much discussion. It started because I wanted to read Keep In Step With The Spirit with a friend and we didn’t have a lot of opportunity to connect, so I suggested making a Facebook group. Then I thought it would be good to make it available to men in West Plains as a discussion group. I created the group, invited a few friends and then started posting. There was a little response to some things, but no discussion abounded. Maybe I’m not a good provoker to talk, or maybe that one site doesn’t promote discussion. Or both. Either way, it was dumb because it was just me. My friend ended up doing a lot of other things and isn’t able, at this time, to read much. So, I shut it down, or in that one site’s lingo, I archived it.
Last Thursday we had youth widows night and I did a little devotion on encouragement. I don’t see enough of that, so I wanted to encourage the encouragers. Then I thought that the next book on my list (see a couple of posts ago) was called, Encouragement: the Key to Caring. I began reading it and thought it’d be a good thing to go through with the youth.
Back to that one site: I also started thinking to delete my Facebook profile, so I began to clean up. I came across a lot of writing. Not only links from this one site, but long, rambling status entries I thought were really interesting and couldn’t delete. But the thing was, was that there was a lot, I mean a lot of stuff I use to write. So, I wanted to get back to that. And here I am.
In some of my digital cleaning up, I came across this email that really encouraged me. It was one of the best things that I came across and I wanted to post it. For posterity.
Mark,
I just wanted to say – I’ve not done a good job being aware of your contributions to our community. Or to your overall well-being. It’s my fault. I think that I just get caught up in the jesting moods and never really factor in the reality of you.
I want to thank you for what you did for Ken, and what you’re doing for others. I’m sorry for things I do and say that don’t edify or encourage you. I welcome you to brings these to the surface. In public when I do so publicly. Privately, otherwise.
You have a blessing of contentment. Maybe internally you don’t – but I find that most people can only fake things without medication a few days, so I doubt your discontent on the inside. You’ve done a wonderful job separating issues from your identity. This always leaves room for joy to prosper.
Your joy is infectious. Not many people can simply bring a level of comfort through an introduction. But Mark Mayo can do just that.
Keep on being the beacon of hope and comfort that you have been and I know will be. I just wanted to let you know that God is using you when you least expect it, in ways that would seem mindlessly normal – these are the ways that God is making huge waves in the lives of those around you. And of course in the ways that you know, the ways he is actively leading you also 😉
Much like a comet ( which will be visible in the coming days ) you have a noticeable ball of energy, but everywhere you go, you leave a little bit of you around just because you were there. It illuminates to remind us all of the work He has and is and will be doing in the life of you and your family. Our community is fortunate for our Father to bring you to us.
Thank you.
It is hard for me to think that this was written to me, and about me, but I guess that is what the writer sees, and the joy it brought me will carry on for quite some time.
~Mayo
Undeniably Mayo 