Just A Little Sugar Goes A Long Way 9/15/2021

 Good Morning,

I just settled in to the chair at my desk. There are two Springer Spaniels at my feet asleep, with full bellies and I have a hot cup of Door County Breakfast Blend Coffee at my side. 

Proverbs 16:24 Kind words are like honey, sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

I have written before about how much I like sweet peach iced tea in the summer. Once the tea is brewed in the sun, I bring it into the house a refrigerate if for a couple hours. I bring the pitcher out to the kitchen table or counter top and begin to add sugar until I get that perfect balance. It doesn't take too much sugar to get that fruitful pitcher of summer delight just right. I add the sugar slowly and taste a little tea and add more sugar and stir. Once it is sweet enough, my world is happy happy happy. 

I liken my sweet tea experience to life for spouses, families. and friends. Every person needs some sweetness now and then. A kind deed done in love is a sweet treat for anyone. Yet there might be something still missing. A kind word goes a long long way. Like sugar that sweetens the tea, a kind word  does the same for the hearts of those around us. Please, thank you or "I appreciate all you do for me" is sugar for the heart. 

All too often our spouses, family and our friends are starving for affection, praise, or affirmation of our love for them. A spouse neglected by lack of kind words feels the need to "shake the sugar tree" and often this is done by shutting down communication, then hanging out with those who do appreciate them. Children will do the same. Friends who do not feel appreciated or important, find new friends. 

So today, don't make others shake the sugar tree. Let them know they are important by just complimenting them or just telling them how much they are appreciated. 

It doesn't take much to sweeten the pitcher of life.

Marty