I had an amazing experience at the Bridging the Gap Words Matter Conference in October. The speakers were so fun and it was amazing to learn from them, but that wasn’t what made my weekend. The worship, activities, and decor were so great – WOW – but that wasn’t it either. I went with lots of ladies from my church, which was incredible, but once again…

I was privileged to serve on the prayer team for the conference, and we saw God do some amazing things at the altars. When people are willing to surrender their need to the only One who can truly meet our needs, fantastic things happen. Robyn Wilkerson had just shared an awe-inspiring story, and it was relatable to almost everyone in attendance. The altars were packed with women who wanted to lay down things from the past to step into the future with hope. I had prayed with a few ladies and was just milling around praying and waiting to see if anyone else might need me to pray with them. Most of the ladies had gone on to lunch, but there were still many in the worship center.

A woman approached me and asked if the speaker had already left the building or if she was still available. I honestly had no idea, but at first glance, it seemed that she may have already gone. The woman began to walk away, but I got her attention again when I realized that Robyn was still available after all. I realized that I recognized her at that point; she had been a speaker at another Bridging the Gap conference I’d attended several years before. I asked her for her name and confirmed that she was who I thought she was. I thanked her for her ministry and told her how much her talk had meant to me, and how I’d often referred to it when speaking with others about the subject. She seemed grateful that I’d remembered and then went on to speak to Robyn. I didn’t think anything of it. It was true, and it felt good to encourage her. I continued milling around.

And then she came back. She thanked me for my words, and she hugged me. Then she completely made my conference weekend.

As she was hugging me, she spoke just two words: “Bless you.” But she must have said them 50 times. With an anointing that didn’t require eloquence, she spoke blessing over my life. It affected me so strongly that I began to weep. And then I began to sob against her as she held onto me. There was a cleansing and refreshing that poured into me as she prayed.

She is a quiet-spoken, humble woman. She wasn’t trying to impress me; she probably didn’t even know my name. But none of that mattered as she invested in me that afternoon. And I was incredibly impacted by her gift.

We may never know what a simple act of blessing can do for another.

In these days of remembering to be thankful, blessing others seems as if it would be easier than usual. But life is busy, and there is so much need to do packed into our days. Taking just a moment to be a blessing to someone else might need to be an intentional action on our parts.

Buying coffee for the person behind you in line, encouraging a young mom with a busy child in a store, showing grace to a frustrated driver on the highway, or simply offering a smile can make someone’s harried day a little brighter. I gave a small blessing away, and it was returned to me as an even bigger gift. I love the promise that we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7). Invest far and wide, my friends!