“One cannot be grateful and unhappy at the same time.”
—Anonymous
A string of serendipitous moments in the past few months brought a fact to my attention. I’ve never been without hope. Because of how I was raised, where I was raised, and the people that have surrounded me my entire life, being alone is something I’ve never had to face. Odds are, I never will.
That’s great for me, I’m lucky. But there’s no lesson in lucky.
I’ve had no reason to consider what it would be like to be hope-less, left with nothing more than fate or luck to determine my outcome. And I’d never considered how easily that course could be changed if somebody stepped in.
That is, until a family member, who until recently has been out of the picture, reappeared, at least in conversation, which is as close as he’ll get for two to four years. This is someone who was close to my in-law’s family for a long time, a long time ago. I vaguely remember meeting him once, maybe twice. Suddenly he’s back, at the forefront of conversations and on the receiving end of cards, letters and regular visits from the outside.
It seemed to come out of nowhere, this commitment to him. I misjudged how much he meant to his family way back when and especially now. And I underestimated the importance of what his family is trying to give him today.
A little hope.
If that disappears, what’s he left with? What does he have to lose? Sure, he could get lucky and somehow find his way out without the help of a support line.
But like I said, there’s no lesson in lucky.
A nod from a determined family member might be all it takes to create some hope for his life. And if a nod doesn’t do it, maybe a shove would.
I know this family. They’re happy to create hope, but they’re not afraid to start shoving.
Sometimes, when it needs to be, blood can be thicker than hope.
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