Hope often follows help. Let me say that again, hope often follows help. When you give help to a hopeless person, their hope often is bolstered. Hope could be the powerful and most needed emotion a person could have. Without hope for the future, many people have trouble finding their way back.

When you see someone in need, you could possibly be looking at a situation that could change their life if that person had a little help. I often will help people on the road without judging because they clearly need something; if I can play a small role in helping restore their hope, then it is the right thing to do.

Hope is a very fickle emotion that needs to be stirred like many other good emotions. If left alone, hope can deteriorate like other aspects of life. It needs to be attended to and stirred up on a continual basis. Many changes in life can be very difficult to overcome, but I believe the loss of hope is the worst.

Hope is very evident when you see someone and look in their eyes. You can often see into the soul by the eyes, and you can see pain, defeat, fear as well as you can see joy, love, kindness and also hope. When you see people, be aware that when you shake hands or greet someone that you are there for a reason. More times than not the other person is ok and doing all right, but there are times when a little extra attention is needed to maybe help that person.

As I look at Christmas and at this holiday season, it is really centered around hope because the birth of Jesus was in fact the hope of righteousness and the hope of salvation that came in the form of a man. At this time of year, hug your children, grandchildren, spouse, parents, and any other close family members; make sure they know how you feel about them. Make sure they know that you would do anything to see them live well and be in joy and health. Love is a decision, and it is also an easy thing to give and to share. With many people, it could be the very thing they need to get through this day or this week or life in general.

Help and hope often go together, and hope is the light of life that everyone needs. KT