Write Notes of Encouragement

The power of words is immense. A well-chosen word has often sufficed to stop a flying army, to change defeat into victory, and to save an empire. ——- Emile De Girardin

There is an important letter by John Wesley wrote to William Wilberforce.

“In 1791, William Wilberforce was facing one more discouraging defeat in his attempt to abolish Britain’s slave trade, then he received a letter from John Wesley. That now-famous letter would prove to be a continuing source of strength for the rest of his life.”

London, February 26, 1791

Dear Sir:

Unless the divine power has raised you up … I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise, in opposing that execrable villainy, which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature. Unless God has raised you up for this very thing you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils. But, “If God is for you, who can be against you?” Are all of them stronger than God? O “be not weary in well doing!” Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.

… That He who has guided you from your youth up, may continue to strengthen you in this and all things, is the prayer of, 

Your affectionate servant,

J. Wesley

Four days after writing that letter, Wesley was dead. And once again Wilberforce was defeated when the vote was taken in Parliament. Ultimately Wilberforce prevailed, but in the intervening years, he was vilified and faced so many disappointments. His opponents even arranged for him to be challenged to a duel and made an attempt to kill him.

He was tempted to give up the fight more than once. But every time he read it, it was like the first time. It never failed to encourage and strengthen him.

Wilberforce died one of the most esteemed men of his day and was buried in Westminster Abbey. His epitaph reads in part:

Eminent as he was in every department of public labour,

And a leader in every work of charity,

Whether to relieve the temporal or the spiritual wants of his fellow men

His name will ever be specially identified

With those exertions

Which, by the blessing of God, removed from England

The guilt of the African slave trade,

And prepared the way for the abolition of slavery

in the very colony of the Empire.

Wilberforce had devoted his entire life and political career to a great cause: ending slavery. Yet he might not have prevailed had it not been fro the encouraging note of John Wesley.

Today we communicate by telephone, mobile, social media, and email. In the hectic pace of our busy lives, who has time to correspond the old fashioned way? Yet the more convenient our communication becomes, the more temporary it is. Few things beat opening a mailbox and pulling out a real note written by a real person. When you see the thoughts of someone you respect written in his or her own hand, it really means something. 

I had believed in the power of written notes of encouragement for many years. Written notes don't have to come from someone famous to be encouraging. They can be from your boss, peer, spouse, teacher, mentor, friend and etc. A kind word given from the heart is always well received. If you’ve never mastered the practice of sending handwritten notes to people, then I want to encourage you to try this often. 

Forget about: Being a perfect writer and focus on writing fro the heart

Ask: What can I say that will be an encouragement now, as well as someday in the future?

Do it: Take one hour today to write several notes to people for the sole purpose of encouraging them.

Remember: Words have the power to give encouragement long after the writer has forgotten them.