Oh, the potential power of a metaphor.   Amazing how a seemingly unrelated example can often provide a “lightbulb” moment to awaken someone to a really important truth.  Jesus used them all the time. (Check out the red letters in the Gospels if you don’t believe me.)
 
As I have thought and shared about the life-changing impact of affirming words, I’ve often used the analogy of a watering can. The water that comes from a watering can helps plants to thrive, just as our words of encouragement can do in another’s life. 
 

Do you have a theme song for your life? 
 
My signature tune has changed many times over the years. More often than I care to admit, My Way by Frank Sinatra most aptly reflected my life choices. (That refrain never turned out too well, by the way.)
 

Has a comment ever stunned you so much that it seared into your memory banks as something you never seem to forget? 35 years ago, that happened to me. I was listening to a highly successful man reflect back on what he initially perceived to be one of the worst experiences of his life.
 
He had been on top of the world, assuming all was well with his promising career in the advertising department of a leading Atlanta company. Then, one Friday afternoon, the unthinkable happened and he was fired. Done. Rejected. Broken. Hopeless. That was “the real thing” for him.

This is a time we will never forget. The impact of this worldwide pandemic has been catastrophic in countless ways. We’ve had a global wake-up call about the fragility of life, the illusion of financial security and the importance of relationships.
 
Who hasn’t heard heartbreaking stories about people perishing alone? I can hardly bear to imagine the agony of family members unable to be with dying loved ones or the fear experienced by critically ill patients, longing for comforting touches and words from those dearest to them. This is a tragedy of epic proportions.