Special Guest Post

Happy Wednesday dear ones.

The following is from my favorite Blogger, Holley Gerth. Holley has an enormous gift of encouragement along with being a fabulous "wordsmith".

I love this post and send it on today to each of you with all my love!

Judy 

WHEN YOU NEED A LITTLE EXTRA STRENGTH

The sky blazes blue above us. The road whirs beneath the wheels of my bike. It's early morning and the heat is just beginning to nip at our heels. We race it. 
My husband says, "Get behind me and you can draft."
I've heard this term when the Tour de France comes around each year but I'm not really sure what it means. 
I pull in snug to his back tire.
And suddenly everything is better. I'm going faster with less effort. 
When we come to a smooth stretch, I slip in beside him.
"Why did it get so much easier?" I ask. 
"I took the wind for you. I faced the resistance so you didn't have to."
I smile in recognition--I may not have done this on a bike before but my heart knows the feeling. Oh, yes.
When a friend stands in front of me with uplifting words as the enemy tries to breathe down my neck. 
When someone helps me with a hard task--one that seems too much for me in the moment. 
When a one of you leaves a comment with the four words that perhaps break the opposition most effectively, "I'm praying for you."
When a biking team is racing, they take turns drafting off each other. Each rider gets to be the one who benefits and then at some point its their time to stand in the gap for someone else. 
Isn't that what we're called to do as well?
Encouragement is a lot like "drafting" for the heart. 
Who stands in front of you and takes the resistance sometimes? Tell them thank you.
And who are you letting come behind you so that you can help them along? Keep it up--you're making a difference even more than you know. 
We pull into home. 
My legs are tired but I feel good. 
I look at the one who helped me make it and I smile. 
Yes, we really are better together.
You, me, all of us.  
Getting stronger as we go.
Holley