Me and Hope

This is a little story about hope. These are tough times. How many times have you heard that today? It's almost to the point where we've become desensitized to the struggle millions of people are having. It's all over the media - radio, tv, web. Seems we're flooded with hard times and struggle. Maybe. Maybe not.

For those of you who know me, you know I look at life through a different lens. I see life as opportunity to learn, opportunity to teach. Sure there are people 'struggling'. What makes that so bad. Some of the most beautiful things were born through struggle.



Now, for the sake of the story, we'll call this little peanut shown in the picture, Hope. You see, her parents are friends of ours. My wife and the mother of Hope go a LONG way back. While she was in the womb, there were doctors talking of problems, you know difficulties. Apparently she wasn't growing as much as they would have liked. We all figured, ah, in time, Hope will come around. Let's not worry too much.

In the months ahead, her growth was at a rate that made many people scared - including me. Fear was starting to build. Questions were starting to arise. What was going on - what was happening to Hope.

The doctors decided to bring our little peanut into this world a little early. They figured they could take care of her outside the womb more carefully - more cautiously.

For months, our little peanut struggled. She struggled to eat. She struggled to grow. She struggled to live.

~ take a breath

Through all of that struggle, I witnessed the beauty of Hope. She brought friends together. She kept family first. She brought joy and beauty to wherever she was by simply existing. By simply being who she is.

You see, my belief is that Hope never saw the struggle. She never experienced the hard times. My belief is that Hope simply is. She is love. She is joy. She is family. She is friends. Through her existence, through her being, she lives in love. She lives in joy. She lives in Hope!

Much Love Peanut.

- greg