Stories of Hope

I remember the advice from an old pastor one time to me, "Give them hope!" His name was Eugene Hazard. He was a dear friend.

Hope is needed today as the stock market slides here in America. It is needed as social structures which continue to change affect the lives of people. My conversation with a grandma at the town pool the other day confirmed that. Hope is needed everywhere.

I love the exchange between Froto and Sam in LORD of the Rings. Froto says that he cannot go on. Sam encourages him with the words, "There is a little good left in the world and it is worth fighting for." They continue their quest.

Hope was seen in the backyard this morning as a Daylily that is a late bloomer put out another scape which will bring blooms into September. I love those out of season blooms. I love when it happens in life.

I began running again after years of putting on pounds. The result has been astounding. I feel so much better. Today I did an exercise at the track I had not done since High School, 38 years ago!

Colonel Sanders, who began the World Wide KFC Chain, began his venture after years of failing with his first Social Security Check.

I returned to coaching Little League after being out of it for over 20 years when my granddaughter joined. It has been so much fun. Being back out there on the field is such a joy.

When Israel went into the Galilee after nearly 2,000 years of being away from it much of it was a swamp. Today beautiful farms and orchards line the hills around that Sea. I have eaten of the fruit and it is delicious.

One more... last year my good friend Rudy Migliore gave me some cuttings from a fig tree. I planted it, did everything I was supposed to over the winter and this spring it looked dead as a doornail. Not until summer did new shoots pop up and a beautiful tree emerge. It reminds me of how life is at times. When we think it is all over, God writes a new chapter. When we think there is no hope suddenly hope springs up!

Tomorrow the sun will rise and who knows what the tide will bring in- Castaway

Photo Courtesy of Vickie Tomlinson