Brace yourself for this one, folks, it’s going to get real serious, real fast.

Death is inevitable.

I warned you.

This isn’t a post about the final result of living, but rather about the importance of making the most of our time here on earth. Now, there are a lot of things you can do to increase your efficiency, but I want to focus on one thing in particular: speaking life.

If you're not familiar with this term, our working definition for our time together will be: to edify and lift up those around you through words of encouragement. Seems simple enough, right? So why don’t we do it?

You don’t have to look further than your phone to see the pieces of garbage people spew from their fingers on social media. I mean, Twitter, Facebook, and the like, resemble the city dump, am I right? It’s ridiculous the amount of animosity and tension evident amongst “friends” in these places. Not to mention the political ads that seem to leave us feeling bewildered and nauseous.

My proposition is that we intentionally speak life to those around us. It’s curious to me that we often wait until funerals to share the best about someone. Too bad they aren’t there to hear it.

Recently, the actor who played Black Panther, Chadwick Boseman, passed away. He seemingly hid the fact that he had cancer from the world for over 4 years. I obviously didn’t know him personally, but after reading all of the wonderful things about him after he passed, I sure wished I would have! From his kindness, charitable spirit, and love for life, to his sense of adventure, and quiet strength, it seems like he was a friend to everyone he met. He made this world a better place. Now, many of these words were from people that knew him personally, but I wonder how many of them shared any of those thoughts with him while they were able to. Maybe some of them did-I hope so, anyway. But when I saw several posts on Instagram about young children and their action figures holding memorial services for Black Panther, my heart melted (didn’t yours?) and I wished that Chadwick could see the impact he had on these young lives, and hear all the wonderful acclamations people were making about him.

After the tragic passing of Kobe Bryant last year, I had noticed something similar. Since then, I have made it a personal goal to genuinely share with others why I am thankful for them, and remind them why they are special to me.

Will you join me?

This isn’t about complimenting someone’s outfit (although that feels good to hear too), but more about their actions and character. For example, as a woman who is waiting to adopt, I am so grateful for the wonderful examples of hard-working, loyal mamas I have around me, and I’ve acknowledged many specific examples to several of them. Call out your friend’s amazing musical talent, or share with her that you’re thankful that she is a great listener and you’ve appreciated her sound advice. If she is always willing to grab snacks for your meeting, thank her for it! Share with your husband how much you appreciate when he intentionally does something to make you laugh. Remind your kids how God has made each of us special, and you love watching them discover their talents. Just be on the lookout for the positives evident in those around us!

Prior to these reflections, I tended to take the people in my life for granted. Let’s be honest, I still do. I know that God has gifted us each in unique ways, and since those gifts are often evident to me, I don’t always do a great job of acknowledging them, because I assume they are evident to everyone and “of course they would act that way.” We have this life to share with those around us: our family, our friends, our coworkers. Let’s make sure they know the ways in which they’ve affected us for the better.

A few years ago, I started The Speak Life Project with my small group (bible study) of ladies at church. Essentially, we send one letter a month (yes, actual mail) to someone in our group and speak life to them: acknowledge their talents, encourage them, remind them of how great a mom they are, share a bible verse, you know, all the things everyone wants to hear. The project has been such a blessing to me, and I am thankful for the community of strong, caring women I get to be a part of! I encourage you to do something similar with a group of friends or even your family.

Watch how speaking life to those around you can make the world just a little bit brighter.

I would love to hear how this is working for you! Share in the comments, or over on instagram @teamodecor918.

Don’t forget: you have so much to offer the world.