Daily Meditation for October 16, 2024

Encouragement, “to give heart to” or “to cover.” To offer encouragement does reach out in a special manner in covering another with extra strength in a given situation. The definition also states encouragement as “giving heart to another.” This encouragement may be the input needed such as in The Little Engine That Could children’s story by Wally Piper. After the collapse of the original engine needed to pull a heavy load of necessary supplies for people on the other side of the mountain, this little engine was asked to pull the needed load to them. Offering to pull this large load, the little engine spewed out its steam as “I think I can, I think I can.” Then, having been successful in delivering the necessary goods the steam changed to “I thought I could, I thought I could.” May our words of encouragement allow others to go from “I think I can” to “I thought I could.”

By Philip Zimmer, OSB