That’s how every relationship feels in the absence of much affirmation and encouragement. But when we encourage one another, it’s like thickening the air with oxygen. As oxygen is to our lungs, encouragement is to our souls. Oxygen gives life. Remove it, and we die. Proverbs says, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue” (Prov. 18:21). When the atmosphere is thick with affirmation, friendships thrive. But when it’s thin (or when it’s thick with criticism), they wither.
