Thought for the week: Charles Stevenson is encouraged
'The most seasoned among us do need to be upheld and nurtured.’
Timothy Withers was a faithful member of our Meeting. Because he was so committed, Friends were inclined to give him too many responsibilities. On one social occasion, I happened to observe Timothy with an uncharacteristic red-faced scowl, marching for the exit, even though he had just arrived. I was about to greet him when I heard of Ethela Goodhardt’s voice: ‘Good evening Timothy. Can you help me with something?’ His scowl was transfigured.
Later, waiting with him for a tram, I found that Timothy had been annoyed by a different Friend, who had accused him of pinching a book from the library. Timothy had been at the Meeting house where he saw a book that he wanted to read. The book recording borrowings was not to be found so, as Timothy was returning soon, he took the library copy anyway, But one unbending stickler for the rules could not countenance any circumstances for not recording the loan.
Just as Timothy’s tram appeared he confided ‘I thought I was becoming too obsessed with my commitment to the Meeting, perhaps I should stand aside for a while, but’, he added, as the tram screeched to a halt, ‘Ethela Goodhardt gave me heart. You know, Paul wrote to the Galatians: “And let us not be weary in well doing…” Good night!’
I thought gratefully of Ethela as I waited on. Ethela made it known that leadership was not for her, nor was competing for status. ‘I am never going to be the busybody for whom ignorance of the situation is no hindrance to flaunting their importance,’ she once quipped. Ethela knew her role in life was to be an encourager. Whether or not it was natural to her, or whether she had cultivated this role, I do not know. Her voice had an encouraging ring. She was widely read, with an incredible memory. Neither patronising nor being the Pollyanna was in her constitution, for she had an authentic ability to make you feel appreciated. This was achieved by introducing some topic that she knew was dear to the person being addressed; or, perhaps, she would simply say how much she admired what had been said, written, or what she had heard about the person. In any case she took an intelligent interest in other people’s enterprises. Were it something that she privately disapproved of, Ethela would cheerfully find some angle with which to engage the person constructively.
As my own tram rumbled along I reflected that, just because a member of the Meeting is the willing horse to be saddled with responsibility, I should never take that Friend for granted. The most seasoned among us do need to be upheld and nurtured. Above all, we desperately need encouragers.
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