When Praise Helped Me Find My Voice

When I was growing up, our family used to sing.

It was my mom and dad, my brother, my sister, and me. We sang together in church, and in those early days, I have to be honest — I hated it.

I didn’t hate the music. I didn’t hate the songs. I didn’t hate the church.

I hated being called up front.

I was shy. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want everybody looking at me. Whenever someone would say, “Come on up and sing,” I wanted to disappear into the pew. I was just a child, and standing in front of people felt like the worst thing in the world.

But in our family, when it was time to sing, we sang.

My mom was usually the one in charge. She knew what we were going to sing. She knew who was going to sing what part. And one day while we were practicing, she decided I was going to sing the verses to a song called The King Is Coming.

That meant I had the solo part.

I learned the verses, probably scared to death the whole time. I can still remember that first Sunday when we stood up to sing it. There I was, standing in front of the church, singing those verses.

And something happened that day.

After I sang, the little old ladies in the church started making over me.

“Oh, you did so good.”

“You sing so good.”

“Oh my goodness, that was wonderful.”

I don’t know if I really sang that good, or if they were just being kind to a shy little boy, but I can tell you this — their words changed something in me.

Before that day, I didn’t want to sing.

After that day, they couldn’t get me to shut up.

I started wanting the solos. I wanted to sing more. I wanted to be used. What had once embarrassed me became something I enjoyed.

All because somebody encouraged me.

That taught me a lesson I have never forgotten. Encouragement can pull a voice out of someone that fear has kept hidden.

There are people all around us who have gifts they are afraid to use. They may be shy. They may be unsure. They may not believe they have anything worth offering. Sometimes they don’t need criticism. They don’t need pressure. They don’t need someone pointing out every mistake.

They need someone to say, “You did good.”

They need someone to notice.

They need someone to believe in them before they fully believe in themselves.

A few kind words from those ladies in that little church helped a shy boy find his voice. They probably had no idea what their words meant to me, but their encouragement stayed with me.

That is the power of praise when it is sincere. It doesn’t just compliment what someone did. It can awaken who they are becoming.

There is a right kind of praise. Not flattery. Not empty words. Not trying to puff someone up with pride. But real encouragement that says, “I see something in you. Keep going.”

Sometimes a child keeps singing because someone clapped.

Sometimes a preacher keeps preaching because someone said, “That helped me.”

Sometimes a business owner keeps building because someone said, “I believe in what you’re doing.”

Sometimes a weary soul keeps going because someone took the time to speak life.

We never know how far one word of encouragement can travel.

Looking back, I realize my mother gave me the solo, but those ladies gave me the courage.

And sometimes that is all a person needs.

A chance.

A song.

And somebody in the crowd saying, “Keep singing.”

My Final Thought

Never underestimate the power of encouragement. Your words may be the very thing that helps someone find the voice God placed inside them. A little praise at the right moment can turn fear into confidence, silence into song, and a shy child into someone who never stops singing.