Nolie’s Nook – We Can Still Decide To Be A Cheerleader, An Encourager
Nolanne Rust
Tonight I attended our home XC meet to watch my bonus boy run (not to brag, but he got 14th out of around 170- Go Chase!).
Anyway, if you haven’t been to a cross country meet- I encourage you to try to make it. I admit, I don’t particularly care to watch just running, and I’m not sure I would have went if we didn’t have a kid involved. But there’s some extreme positivity and encouragement on those sidelines. My boys and I were stationed near the finish line. And the atmosphere there is so awesome! The path is lined with families and friends and coaches and teachers- and whoever else comes to watch- and they aren’t just cheering for 1 person or against anyone, but they are cheering for multiple people to finish strong. They are clapping the whole way, shouting words of affirmation to each child, and sometimes even jogging along for part of the journey. Not just their child, not just their child’s teammates, but people they don’t know from towns they have no idea about. I watched a few Jr High aged kids that were worn out from the mile of hills and the heat, but more than that I couldn’t help but to smile and join in clapping and yelling even louder for those kids- the ones that were having a hard time continuing but we wanted to see succeed, kids we would never see again but needed a boost at that moment, people who were worn out and felt defeated but had a finish line to cross.
And isn’t that all of us some days. Not physically running, because if we’re being honest- I’m more of a professional spectator in the athletic division. But just trying to get across the finish line- wether it’s a deadline or our work day or just the end of each day. Some days it seems like we are fighting our way uphill while everyone else is running a smooth path. Sometimes the weather and the atmosphere and everyone we meet on particular days seem to be working against us.
But what if, EVEN on the hard courses, ESPECIALLY when we are ready to throw in the towel and just toss our white flag- we heard the voice of even a stranger giving us that push of encouragement? How amazing would life be if we were being cheered for, even if we are on a “different team”- wether it’s race, or gender, or social class, or religion- by those around us? We don’t always know when people are running the hardest race of their life. We can’t always see the struggles. But we can still decide to be a cheerleader, an encourager.
The problem is, we can’t make that choice for others. We can only make that choice for ourselves and teach it to our own children. Wanting a positive environment isn’t going to get anyone very far if no one decides to start with doing.
Can we all just root for each other? That waitress that delivered the wrong order, that person next to you in a traffic jam that you don’t want to let in front of you, that mom with the screaming child in public, that teacher that you swear has it in for you, that student that’s struggling more than usual, and all those seemingly perfect and happy people that don’t wear their suffering as visibly as everyone else- any of them may be feeling they can’t cross whatever finish line they are up against. Cheer for them. Show them grace. Lift them up.
Choose kind, spread love, cheer for the human race. In all forms.
