H is for Hope: Building Skills

HOPE    I planned on home learning but it is Christmas week as I write this post so HOPE seems like a much more fitting topic!  As a Christian, Jesus is born to bring us hope.  Knowing God gives us hope regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in and it is a tremendous gift.  Yet, the best gift of Christmas is that the baby in the manger is part of our salvation plan. For any interested in the true meaning of Christmas or looking for someone to talk to because you have questions about God, you are welcome to message me and I will do my best to help you find meaningful answers.

Aside from spiritual hope, hope in the general sense of the word is also powerful and valuable in the lives of all people, including the children that are in your circles of the world.

One of the circumstances of life that pulls deeply on my heart is a teenager or individual who has lost hope.  Life is so very precious and no person should find themselves in a place where they are hopeless and lack the desire to live. When I say it takes a village to raise a child, the picture in my head is that we all work together according to our own gifting to love, care for, train and help those we meet in our day to day life.  We look out for one another. He help where we can.  PLEASE do what you can to NOT tear people down but instead to encourage them and build them up.  Please help the hopeless find a glimmer of a reason to hold on.

Today someone smiled at me.  Today a person held open a door for me.  Today somebody called me to check in.  Today....Small acts of kindness can change the world.  They really can.  They give hope.  Hope that someone is remembering them.  Hope that people can be kind and good.  Hope that tomorrow just might be a better day.  Hope that there is something better than what they are experiencing just prior to that moment in time.  Many lives are saved just by someone answering a call and not hanging up but taking a moment from their day to help someone in their hour of need.

Please don't think I have gone totally off topic in today's blog.  It is so relevant! 

How do you raise a child without hope?  How will they put in the effort it takes to learn to walk, to read, to ride a bike if there is no hope that they are able to succeed? We need to believe in children as we interact with them and recognize their successes and celebrate their small wins. If we don't, what is their motivation to keep going?  If nobody notices or cares that they did something successfully, why would they want to do it again? They may...or they may not.

This goes backward all the way to infancy. A baby expects to be fed. If they cry and root and find nothing, they will learn not to try.  They may get louder and bolder at first but will quickly weaken and eventually give up even if it leads to their death.  A child who is trying to communicate with gestures but people are not comprehending their efforts will get frustrated and may resort to bad behaviours or may withdraw when their hope for interaction, communication and help are consistently denied to them.  

Respond to young children consistently.  

Help them when they need help.  

Celebrate with them when they succeed.  

Interact with the people in the world and make the world a brighter place.

Give people, young and old, a reason to HOPE.