Uncertainty.  Webster defines being uncertain as not having certain knowledge, not knowing beyond a doubt or when the state of things are just indeterminate.  When you are facing the great unknown that we call the future, we all look at it in a state of uncertainty.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring?  It is completely out of our control.

We can choose how we live today and how we look forward to tomorrow.  We can help those in our lives to face uncertainty by giving them an extra dose of encouragement.  When others may be stumbling for words to say or avoiding conversations, we can shine a light of hope into their lives.

Richard Bach once said, “What the caterpillar calls the end of the world, the master calls a butterfly.”  Let’s help people to see that beautiful butterfly in their lives.  Let’s help them to spread their wings and feel uplifted by the love we show them.  Let’s cheer them on as they begin to soar.

What great uncertainties lie before yourself and those closest to you?  Is someone waiting to hear back on medical results or to hear the next steps in their treatment plans?  Is someone waiting to hear back on potential employment?  Is someone bound financially, unsure of how bills will be met this month?  Is someone waiting to hear from a child who has gone astray?  Is someone facing a situation that is taking longer than expected to come to fruition?  These and many more are reasons someone may need a bit of extra PEP in their day.

The best way to PEP up someone facing uncertainty is to remind them that there is no doubt that you care for them.   That regardless of what happens, you love them.  Reassure them that they matter to you today.  Show them by giving them a dose of encouragement.

The greatest news of all, is that small doses seem to work best.  Send someone a text. Leave a voicemail.  Send an email.  Leave a card on their desk.  Mail a letter.  Bake a cake.  Send balloons.  Send them a gift card.  Bring them a cupcake.  Make them a t-shirt.  Bring them a butterfly.  Color them a picture.  Get creative.  Get silly.  Make it individual.  Just show, however you can, that you care about them and their is no uncertainty about it.

I was the blessed recipient of a dose of encouragement this morning.  My daughter performed what she called the Thank You Dance for me.  She clasped her hands together and shook them as if she was holding a maraca.  Then she twisted back and forth while singing, “thank you mama, thank you mama, thank you mama”.  Now that just made me giggle.  Talk about a day brightener.  Children live out the PEP UP philosophy so naturally and with such ease.

May our efforts to PEP UP those in our lives come naturally to us all.  May they be returned with pure and glistening joy.