My youngest son pleaded with me to build a fort with him. As much as I wanted to, I also felt too tired to. That morning was a tough morning and though I wanted to oblige, I felt drained to do so. Though this same little boy that wanted to build a fort, was the same little boy that could see my stress and so threw his arms as tight as he could around me, hugging me tightly. I realized that I needed to build a fort with this sweet little boy of mine. What I did not realize though, is how much fun I had along with him. We ended up both tucked away inside his huge tent of blankets. We sat there listening to some great Christian music. He even made sure to put his bean bag chair in a special corner just for me. I realized in the process of wanting to put a smile on my son’s face, my stress levels went down, as he put a smile on mine.  Friend, we all have our days that are just stressful, no matter who we are. We are human and even the best of us, have our moments. What is so wonderful though, is when people allow God to use them, to put a smile on someone’s face. Sometimes God uses even the youngest of children to help bring joy to someone. Friend, we could all use a little cheering up sometimes. May we allow God to use us for opportunities to bring a little more joy into someone else’s life. Sometimes that involves building a fort, though most of the time it really just involves encouragement and building friendships.

Erin Fitts-Brower

1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV

Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.