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From your Pastor to your heart

My dear friend,

I have been carrying you in my thoughts, and today I felt compelled to put these words on paper for you.

Lately, it has crossed my heart that you have been straining quietly, building habits no one claps for. You are investing in yourself when no one is watching. You are praying when the room is empty, fasting when no one knows, and fighting battles with addictions and old patterns in silence. And somehow, there is no applause, no public acknowledgment, no one saying, “I see you.”

I know you may not say it out loud, but there is a journey of growth you have been waiting for, and it feels slower than you expected. On top of that, the people around you seem blind to the small steps you are taking. Those steps may look small to them, but to you, they cost everything.

Even as I write this, I sense the tears welling up. You wonder, Why is no one seeing my efforts? And maybe you are even ashamed to admit that you long to be appreciated, to be affirmed, to be told you are doing well. But hear me clearly, my friend, it is not weakness to desire affirmation. The Bible itself says, “Encourage one another and build each other up” (1 Thessalonians 5:11). God designed us to need encouragement.

Let me tell you this gently and truthfully: it is healthy to be thanked for good work done. You are not wrong for feeling this way. Sometimes people cannot see your growth, not because it is not real, but because they are too busy carrying their own burdens. “Each one should carry their own load” (Galatians 6:5). Their blindness does not cancel your progress.

So allow me, as a shepherd of souls, to speak directly to your heart.

Congratulations. You are doing a good work.

You are winning battles your father never won. You are jumping huddles your mother didn't. You are breaking cycles that ran through your family for generations. You are laying a foundation your children will stand on, even if they never fully know the cost. What you are doing is holy work. Scripture says, “One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4). Even if praise has not yet come from people, heaven has taken notice.

You may feel unseen, but you are not forgotten. “God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him” (Hebrews 6:10). Every quiet prayer, every resisted temptation, every step away from violence, drunkenness, and destruction is written before God. “The Lord sees not as man sees” (1 Samuel 16:7). What others overlook, God records.

My voice may feel too small compared to the effort you are putting in, but please receive these words as your flowers today. You have come a long way. Your persistence shows a deep hunger for a better future, and that hunger is evidence of grace at work in you. “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (Philippians 1:6).

So stay the course. Stay grounded. Do not despise these small beginnings, for “the Lord rejoices to see the work begin” (Zechariah 4:10). Keep on keeping on. You are not running in vain, and your labor in the Lord is not wasted (1 Corinthians 15:58).

You are seen. You are valued. And you are deeply appreciated, even when it feels silent.

With pastoral love from your silent fan. 

Pastor Samuel