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Board info for The Hope Board! (HOPE!)
Board name: The Hope Board! (HOPE!)
Board owned by: joe-taylor Date Created: Sat, 03 Jan 09 6:43 PM Total Posts: 1 Average Posts per day: 1 Board category: Meeting Places Board info, rules and other information: We suppose that any number of people might come by to look at a board with the simple name “hope” used as its tag line. There will be the curious! And, then, there will be those who have lost all hope in this world! This board is particularly directed at them. People lose hope for any number of reasons. And, perhaps, some may think that they never really had any to start with. Nothing is monolithic. All things are usually gradual, and, there comes a tipping point when realizations simply hit home with a resounding thud! Those who have truly lost all hope never really begin a search that would led them to a place like this. The human race is, at its essence, a convivial tribe not used to, or expecting isolation to be its lot in life. People go off alone some times. And, we need our times alone. But, aloneness is not good for the soul on any extended basis. One of the greatest tools used by organizations and states is isolation. When people like John McCain, representative of the prisoners of war held for long periods in North Vietnamese prison camps, were cast into aloneness--isolation--they resorted to a tap system in order to be able to communicate with one another through their prison walls. In the film Bridge on the River Kwai, the captors of the British prisoners who were held there often resorted to placing them into boxes out in the compound in order to break their will. In the Russian Gulag, prisoners there resorted to memorization to keep alive the writing that some of them composed in order to keep their creativity and sanity alive. In prisons around the world, those held there, whether for good or bad reasons, have their own ways of coping with a loss of hope. We think that isolation is the key ingredient in the loss of hope. And, having hope is the one thing that all human beings hold in common, no matter how destitute their situation may be. It may be nothing more than the hope of another meal, another day to live, or, the hope that others may live due to our continued existence. Billions of people around this globe live on less than two dollars per day, watch their children die of malnutrition and disease, and scratch out an existence that, like nature, goes on an hour by hour basis. We often look to our faith for hope when we face a trying situation. Faith and religion are not mutually exclusive. However, faith and religion, if they offer nothing else to the individual, offer the keys to a consistent life lived in moderation and following a set of virtues that are self satisfying to the soul. There was a time in this country, and, through the Internet, this world, when people led a more structured and satisfying life. They were more satisfied with their lot in life, and, felt a part of something bigger than self. Isolation comes when we retreat from a world that seems to overwhelm us. We do not force our beliefs on anyone. However, we do believe that having a good set of beliefs that are adaptable to a changing world offer a good foundation for moving through this often long and trying life. So many people in this world did not have the family values that we were instilled with when we were growing up. However, we learned at a young age that we came pre-programmed with those things at birth. We feel that most people know what is right from wrong. A recent article appearing in print and on the Internet states that even dogs have a sense of fairness, and, know when that sense has been violated. But, as one of my former wives used to like to say to our children--life is not always fair! There are many conflictions in this world, and, we are often the victim of the results of those things.
Enough of the descriptions of unfairness and isolation. What those who are in a hopeless situation need is perhaps just a glimmer of hope. Perhaps you are hopeless simply because you do not feel appreciated. Perhaps your life seems to you to be worth nothing at all. Perhaps you are simply at the end of your rope! When you are truly hopeless, we sincerely believe, it is when God is closest to you! All you have to do is be silent and ask for him to speak to you. It matters not what your previous relations with him have been. Even when you no longer follow his song, his blessing still goes with you. It does not mean that some great miracle, as you perceive it, is going to be performed in your life. The only miracle you may receive is an answer to the proper prayer. Do not pray for the impossible, although, all things are possible with the Lord. If you have a loved one in an impossible situation, perhaps it is best just to ask for the situation to change. Change comes to all of us, and, nothing stays the same. And, all things must come to a close one day. We know of an acquaintance of many years who faced impossible cancer. We prayed for a miracle to prolong his life. God simply ended the suffering, and, provided a beautiful sunset on the evening that he passed away! There may be those who will read this board who are thinking of ending their own life for whatever reason. God did not create you for that purpose. We have friends who face a marriage that is beset by enormous physical challenges brought on by an accident several years ago. They carry on for their child, honor their marriage vows, and support one another although they are still very young. We have another friend who, after a lifetime of good works and physical activity, lives with a stroke in his later years. He has come to terms with that, and, faces each and every day with his faith intact. There will always be greater and lesser people than ourselves, and, correspondingly, greater and lesser trials and tribulations that we all must face, collectively and individually. Throw your troubles out into the middle of a circle of people, and, when you see what is there, rush to gather them in in the face of the realization of the enormity of it all. You are alive, on the Internet, and have the capacity to read this! You have far more hope than you think that you do! You have all of the ingredients to make a go of it in this world! If you were not meant to read this, you would not have been led this far! If you think that your life means nothing after all these years, you just might be mistaken! We have a scripture reading for you that is not found in most traditional versions of the Bible. It was written in the second century before Christ, going to prove that there was writing going on between the old and the new Testaments. Many call these writers the lost saints. “Let us now praise famous men, and our fathers in their generations. The Lord apportioned to them great glory, his majesty from the beginning. There were those who ruled in their kingdoms, and were men renowned for their power, giving counsel by their understanding, and proclaiming prophecies; leaders of the people in their deliberations and in Understanding of learning for the people, wise in their worlds of instruction; those who composed musical tunes, and set forth verses in writing; rich men furnished with resources, living peaceably in their habitations--all these were honored in their generations, and were the glory of their times. There are some of them who have left a name, so that men declare their praise. AND THERE ARE SOME WHO HAVE NO MEMORIAL, WHO HAVE PERISHED AS THOUGH THEY HAVE NOT LIVED; THEY HAVE BECOME AS THOUGH THEY HAD NOT BEEN BORN, AND SO HAVE THEIR CHILDREN AFTER THEM. BUT THESE WERE MEN OF MERCY, WHOSE RIGHTEOUS DEEDS HAVE NOT BEEN FORGOTTEN… . THEIR POSTERITY WILL CONTINUE FOR EVER, AND THEIR GLORY WILL NOT BE BLOTTED OUT. THEIR BODIES WERE BURIED IN PEACE, AND THEIR NAME LIVES TO ALL GENERATIONS.” So, we hope that you see that you amount to far more than you thought that you did. If you have done wrong things, if only in your own eyes, there is forgiveness for you. And, there is a place for you in the heavens, and, in the history that may be written there. We have a suggestion for you! Find a book of faith. Even if you have no faith! There is great literature from the ages to be found there. You suffer no more than so many who have died horrible deaths for their faith. You have determination over your life or you could not read this. You can go on. Find a place of God. It may be nothing more than a hotel room where a Gideon bible resides! There is hope and wisdom there. There are those who wish nothing more in this world than to be of help to you. Reject isolation and humbly seek out the aid of others. You have come this far. You can go on! If no one else cares about you--we do--or this would not have been written for you! We hope that it is enough! Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (from King James' Version): To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing. A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away; A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Regards, Joe Taylor
If you wish to leave a comment in the posting section--feel free! We will check this board at least once on most days! Discussions are also welcome!
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