Choose To Hope
“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” ~ Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve was an actor who appeared in many critically acclaimed films. He received a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his performance in the television remake of Rear Window (1998). On May 27, 1995, Reeve was left quadriplegic after being thrown from a horse during an equestrian competition in Culpeper, Virginia.
At that point in time, he could have given up, as many people do who are afflicted similarly. But he chose not to quit. Instead, he was going to champion a cause. He used a wheelchair and needed a portable ventilator to breathe for the rest of his life. In that condition, he lobbied on behalf of people with spinal cord injuries and for human embryonic stem cell research. He was the founder of the Christopher Reeve Foundation and co-founder of the Reeve-Irvine Research Center.
His life made a difference. Many would say his life post-accident made more of a difference than his life pre-accident. That was because of the manner in which he confronted his quadriplegia and in the attitude he adopted to never give up. He taught many that all people could and should be valued and that all people can make significant contributions in life, no matter their circumstances.
There are times that we get down in the dumps. We get down because of injury or ill health. We get down because of loss of job or job relocation. We get down because of failed classes, failed projects, or failed marriages. We sometimes become so mired in our feeling down that we do not believe things could get better. But they can.
When we are down, we need to look for hope. It might be small. It might feel impossible. Yet, if we hold on to the tiniest bit of hope that we can find, it will soon bud and blossom and come to fruition.
We might think that this world is impossible, that there is too much hatred and malice. We might think that we can never accomplish any good on this earth. But God has given us the ultimate hope in His Son, Jesus Christ, who destroyed death and restored the opportunity for eternal life to His people.
With that as our reason to hope, we are challenged to extend a ray of hope to all we encounter. Let us do our best to do so today.
FAITH ACTION: Do your best to give hope to someone in need today.