Now, I don't know who "they" are. I just knew I wanted "them" to see me. See me sweating, sighing, and...shoveling! In the midst of my reverie about "them", I hear a beep. I look up to see two elderly people smiling at me as they pass by. A few minutes later, a truck gave a little toot as he passed by. And toward the end of my hour, a red truck complete with a happy, tongue-hangin-out-dog gave the greatest of all beeps- three toots in a row!
If this wasn't encouraging, I don't know what would be. I felt like these people were my "cloud of witnesses", cheering me on and encouraging me. They were shouting "Keep going! We know it's hard, but you can do it! Thank you!" The Bible tells us, "Therefore, encourage one another and build each other up" (1 Thess. 5:11). Let me just say, that tooting-horn-encouragement sure built me up!
Is there someone in your life who can you encourage and build up today?