Have you ever seen “hope”?
I promise you that I saw “hope” standing right in front of me.
During our church service yesterday, our pastor invited out to the stage a twenty year old by the name of “Wilkie.” Wilkie was born in Haiti. Wilkie has a story that is the polar opposite of mine. Wilkie’s mom would sleep around with men to earn enough money so that her kids could eat. This lifestyle lead to her death, leaving Wilkie a homeless orphan. He told stories about living on the streets and sleeping under porches on rainy nights. He told us that he would eat mud. Did you get that… MUD… He ate MUD.
Wilkie eventually met a man named John who would give him food. John gave him opportunities. John was not a wealthy man, he was just a generous man. John would tell Wilkie, “Just because today was bad, doesn’t mean that tomorrow can’t be better.” WOW. There it is… HOPE.
Wilkie was adopted by a family in our church when he was in sixth grade. He had never been to school before. He didn’t know English. He did have HOPE.
Wilkie came and told his story and it overwhelmed me. I don’t know about you, but , when I hear a story like this, I find it hard to believe. I don’t have a box to put it in. I don’t relate to homeless; orphaned; mud-eater. I have had such a spoiled and privileged life.
And yet sometimes I lack hope.
How dare I lack hope.
So, there I sat in church overflowing with emotions as I literally was looking at HOPE, standing there, right in front of me.
“Just because today was bad, doesn’t mean that tomorrow can’t be better.” – John
blessings
be inspired
sj
Thanks for sharing. I can’t imagine not having my parents. I was spoiled knowing my Mother would be waiting for me every afternoon after school. Not sure could have dealt with that. What a great story.