Everyone has greatness within them, but it sometimes becomes buried with hopelessness. I have found there is no such thing as a hopeless situation…just hopeless people. There is always a way to bring hope back to people; they just need someone to help them find it again.

A school system in a large city had a hospital program that helped young patients keep up with their school work during stays in the hospital. One day, a teacher who was assigned to the program received a routine call, asking her to visit a particular child. She took the child’s name and room number and talked briefly with the child’s regular class teacher. “We’re studying nouns and adverbs in his class now,” the regular teacher said. “And I’d be grateful if you could help him understand them, so he doesn’t fall too far behind.” The hospital program teacher went to see the boy that afternoon. No one had mentioned to her that the boy had been severely burned and was in great pain. Upset at the sight of the boy, she stammered as she told him, “I’ve been sent to your school to help you with nouns and adverbs.” When she left, she felt she hadn’t accomplished much. But the next day, a nurse asked her, “What did you do to that boy?” The teacher felt she must have done something wrong and began to apologize. “No, no,” said the nurse. “You don’t know what I mean. We’ve been worried about that little boy, but ever since yesterday, his whole attitude has changed. He’s fighting back, responding to treatment. It’s as though he’s decided to leave.” Two weeks later, the boy explained that he had completely given up hope until the teacher arrived. Everything changed when he came to a simple realization. He expressed it this way: “They wouldn’t send a teacher to work on nouns and adverbs with a dying boy, would they?” 

Never underestimate the power of hope. When you give it to others, you are breathing wind in the sails of their future.

* Taken From my book THE HOPE GIVING LEADER available here on Amazon Prime