HOPE IS A MAGIC WORD…

Hello again my BB Buddies,

I hope you all had a joyful week of love as we celebrated St. Valentine’s and Galentine’s Day. Well, it wasn’t really just a day, was it? No, it was all week, and I hope that the LOVE continues all year long, as well as the chocolates and the roses.

Faith, Hope, and Love are three important words. But I have to say, my favourite is HOPE. Without hope, there can be no love or faith. Hope is what keeps us believing, even through the dark days. Hope is what gets us out of bed in the morning.

This past week, I heard some amazing true life stories that demonstrate hope in action. I hope they will touch your hearts as much as they did mine.

Recently, a little boy went missing in a town in America. His distraught parents reached out to the police and the public. He had been missing several hours. A policeman on patrol heard a dog barking very loudly at a parked car. He walked over to investigate. There inside the car was the missing boy. Somehow, the car was opened, he had wandered in, and got locked inside. As soon as the policeman arrived, the dog ran away. The policeman said he had never seen that dog in the neighbourhood before, nor did he ever see the dog again. But that dog sure saved the little boy that day. Could the dog have been an Angel? My thoughts when I heard that story. Angels are beacons of HOPE.

Also this week, I heard of the miraculous swim a 13 year old boy made in Australia to save the lives of his mother and two siblings. Out paddle boarding, the mother got into difficulties and became stranded with her three children. She had to ask her 13 year old son to swim to get help. She said it was the hardest thing she ever had to do in her life. The boy swam and never gave up hope. After hours in the water, telling himself he must keep going, he must save his family, throwing off his life jacket to help him swim faster, he continued. Hope was the juice that kept his little engine going. He reached shore eventually, exhausted. But thank God, he saved the lives of his mother and brother and sister. He never gave up HOPE!! A true hero.

I will conclude with a beautiful article written by a local retired Bishop. It was entitled ‘Discovering the value of hope in times of darkness’. He reflected on the words of Irish poet, Tom McIntyre. ‘There was a trap door at the end of a loft…and nothing would do but for me to find it, even if I didn’t know I was searching for it…I rambled my way to it, the foxgloves looking at me, the clover smelling, the daisies basking, the buttercups shiny and the trap door somehow not fastened. Suddenly, I’m gone, down a 15 ft. drop to the stable below. A lap of hay was all that saved me. It wasn’t they said, supposed to be there but it was.”

In days of darkness, let us still hope and possess that brazen optimism to chase our dreams, engage with each other, mind each other, just like that little dog who saved the child locked in the car, and the 13 year old boy who swam for hours to save his family, never giving up hope. Because we can and must always be ‘that lap of hay’ for one another.

Hold that happy and hopeful thought my friends, until we chat again!!

Happy Chinese New Year coming on Tuesday the 17th of February. Be sure to wear something red for Good Luck!!

GUNG HAY FAT CHOY!!

With love,

Patricia and Coco xx