I have seen numerous television shows, movies, and commercials where on the shoulder of a character sits an angel and a devil image of themselves. The devil image whispers bad advice, sways the logic to get the character in trouble, or tells the person he or she is not cut out to accomplish the thing they most want to do. The angel character gives wise advice, encourages the character to go out and do what is right, and spurs them on to accomplish great things.

Everyone needs a voice that is a constant encourager to them; a personal private cheerleader. There are teams that have never won a game, but if they have someone who is willing to praise them just for suiting up and playing the game, it breathes life to them.

Cheerleaders don’t cheer at games because they are guaranteed a win. A cheerleader cheers because her team is in the game.

Your husband needs a wife who will cheer him on just because he is in the game. As his cheerleader, you are on the field with him, boosting him when he thinks he cannot go on.

When I was a cheerleader, we just didn’t have the best of teams. Money was low in our school district and we didn’t have the support or foundation that made us an A-1 team. But week after week, our players suited up and played the game.

There were times when they played so hard and would lose by a few points. There were other times when you could tell they were beaten before they hit the field. But there were the occasional victories, some even that were said to be impossible.

As cheerleaders, before we went out on the field, we never knew which games would be the victorious ones so we cheered with all our might—every game. If we were down by many points, we felt it was up to us to incite our boys to fight and win.

Our husbands need us to be their private cheerleaders who will cheer them on, with all our might—each and every day they enter the game. Their jobs will reward them for the success they bring to the company. Others will value them based on what they have to offer them.

He needs a cheerleader to inspire him through his successes and failures, worth or misfortunes. He needs to be able to hear your cheering voice over his shoulder whispering in his ear, “go, fight, win.”


Excerpted from Say It Loud! © 2013 by Robyn McKelvy. Published by Next Century Publishing. Used with permission. All rights reserved.