Earlier this week, a friend reached out and asked if I could write her a letter of recommendation for a job she’s hoping to get. I often get this request from friends, and especially from past coworkers of mine. This request is pretty simple; I type a few paragraphs, highlight some strengths and hit “send.” But as I started thinking about what to say, I realized how rare it is that we ever stop to name the good we see in each other.
Writing a recommendation in the moment could mean nothing to me. But in reflection, for me it means remembering late nights, funny conversations and acts of kindness with that person that would never make a recommendation.
It made me wonder what it would look like if we wrote recommendations for people without being asked. What if we told our friends, co-workers, classmates, or professors the good we see in them before they need to prove it to anyone else? Or what if we wrote one for ourselves to remind us, on hard days, that we’ve done more than we remember?
I hope that maybe all of us will have recommendations to write. But not for a job, but for one another. A few kind sentences that say, you matter and you’re worth believing in.
Show Love Always!
The Student Movement is the official student newspaper of Andrews University. Opinions expressed in the Student Movement are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the editors, Andrews University or the Seventh-day Adventist church.