With all the stuff going on in our world, I was thinking about the need for Hope.
Hope is not an easy concept to tackle (at all!!!) It’s abstract and hard to grasp on a good day.
Hope means to believe, desire or trust
Why? Why infuse hope? Without hope despair can tear at the strongest of characters. Each living Haitian needs hope. Why? The man looking for his wife– even a shred of hope is keeping that man going. A mother is aching for the arms of her little one. She has an inkling of hope in the rescuers– in life… The Haitian community has to have hope. They need to believe that the dust can be transformed into charming buildings with trees swaying in the back ground. They need to trust that children will play in the fountains; the marketplace will again be a place to share local gossip. Without that hope, the people in Haiti will give up. Dirt will be layered on top of another layer – paradise will be gone.
People in the disabled community know all too well about the need for hope. A little boy named Gavin just won a silver medal in the Special Olympics. That kid went out that day with the hope that he could win. He did!
How do we infuse with hope?
How can we infuse hope into our community or in communities that are suffering around our world??? What do you do for a living? What are your hobbies? Are you adept in construction? Help someone (locally) whose house needs repair. Are you creative? Maybe you could make goody baskets for shut-ins. I recently wrote a radio script about a woman, with cancer, who made encouragement baskets for people who were going through difficult times. Are you a teacher? Spend a summer in a third world country teaching English so others can get ahead. Sign up for a league that teaches special needs kids a certain sport.
Don’t Give Up
With the world and the economy in a tailspin, how do we regroup? One earthquake area is patched up and a Tsunami tears through another island. An epidemic hits the world in a matter of months. It would be easy for people to feel like throwing up their arms and saying enough! What more can I do? Some people turn to God in situations like these others to good feelings some give to research or… I have to hold on to the idea that there is a strong, omnipotent being who is taking care of me or I would not be able to get up from the next personal disaster.
Robert would add that there is character building in trials but you can do it!! So if you are struggling with disabilities know there are people who have gone before you who have lived their dreams when people said it couldn’t be done.
Don’t give up– hope while there is still life to hope for.
