Don't Give Up on Hope!

As we progress in our lives, we go through experiences that feel positive and rewarding. Other experiences can make us feel defeated, helpless, vulnerable, angry, and the list goes on. I like to call this “the ring of fire” How you handle those negative situations will make or break you. Seriously. It can either build you up or break you down.Your heart, your spirit, your opportunities, your relationships, and more.

I might not be the first one telling you this, but sometimes the bad happens to the good. Sometimes it is actually a good thing.

That probably sounds odd. How can bad things be good? Well, when you are going through though moments, the goal is not giving up, and maintaining hope. Hope is everything. Hope should bring a vision of beauty, peace, love, healing, success, relief, joy, redemption... Hope instills a vision of something better. To me, hope is not a dream, but a vision of what is coming. That probably sounds silly…

I'll tell you two stories about my hope.

When I was seven years old, I was taken from my parents and placed in Foster care. I was terrified, and genuinely had no understanding why. That ordeal is a story for another time, but I assure you, it was hard. One day my life seemed normal, and the very next day I was living with strangers. I was separated from my parents for years. It was traumatic, and heartbreaking.

But as a young child, what got me through those diffucult times was hope.

Within in the midst of this nightmare, I knew it was not the life I wanted, and that there was something better. I knew that I would see my parents again. It was so real, I could taste it.

Did it happen immediately? No. Were there days that my hope was running thin? Of course. But I did not let go. There was nothing more in life that I wanted more than to leave that situation. I could not give up on my hope. Hope was literally all I had. It was the fuel that kept me moving forward, that made life bearable. Eventually positive things began to happen and needless to say - I am here now.

Hope saved my life as a child. Hope is continually there to pick me up when I fall. I can guarantee that it's there for you too.

As I grew older, my life continued to be full of challenges I did not know how to overcome. At the age of fifteen, I was away from my parents again, but this time I was on my own. The details are another episode… All I had learned thus far in my life, is that it was a painful disaster.

I became an adult, navigating chaos. I wanted nothing more than to be successful and to break the chains and patterns I was living in. I wanted a better life for myself, I wanted to be something.

HOPE was the answer. I literally had my hope written on the walls of my apartment - to remind me that life was going to be hard and I had to stand strong.

I had hope that I could break the cycles I was brought up in.

And I did it. I suffered through decades of pain, challenge and hard work. I didn’t give up. I took internships, advise, mentorship’s, graveyard shifts, I traded sleep for homework, I stood up for what was right. I graduated, I quickly passed by my peers. My resilience became a superpower.

Why did this happen? I refused to give up. Even when I was sitting in the ring of fire for years. Through the pain, shame and fear, I kept walking forward.

It is "normal" to be scared, overwhelmed, feel unworthy, or be upset about where you are. Allow yourself to feel that and overcome it by continuing to take steps forward in hope. Whatever you are going through, it will get better, I promise.

In Jeremiah 29:11 it states, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

If you feel like you’re in the middle of a fire, hope will carry you through. Hang in there.