A PUNCTURED BALLOON
“Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.”
Proverbs 16: 24
King James Version
Have you ever seen a balloon that has been punctured by a fingernail or object? It only takes one little hole in the balloon to deflate it. It may take a while for it to completely deflate but eventually all of the air goes out of the balloon. You may try to patch it with something and it might help for a while but it doesn’t last.
It is the same with our hearts. When someone says something negative to us, a sarcastic remark, a discouraging word or something that pulls us down, that is all that it takes to deflate our hearts. It only takes one discouraging or sarcastic remark to put the hole in our hearts. That is why it is so important to choose your friends wisely.
Our loved ones can try to encourage us and tell us not to listen to those people who delight in putting us down but the hole is already there and nothing anybody says or does can take the hole out of our hearts. Jesus is the only one who can restore our self esteem and confidence and mend the hole in our hearts by His unconditional love and compassion for us.
Please don’t say things to discourage people. Joyce Landorf Heatherly says on one of her teaching tapes “Men and women are leaving full time ministry in droves because we have not encouraged them.” I urge you to be an encourager to others. Let’s start building people up instead of putting holes in their hearts and in their self esteem.
Joanne Lowe
March 16, 2005
