Giving Hope

Nearing the end of the long, dimly lit hallway, I rounded the corner and almost tripped on a girl sitting against the wall. She had her head down so I assumed she was praying or something. Not wanting to stare, I kept walking and went out to the backyard to do my laundry on the washboards. Quite a while later (it takes a long time to scrub all your clothes by hand and hang them up to dry), I headed back to my room.

Turning the corner where I saw the girl before, I was surprised to see her still there. This time, though, her head was up and I could see mascara running down her tear-stained face. I stood there for a minute, trying to decide what to do. I wanted to comfort her and pray with her, but I didn't speak any Spanish beyond "What's your name?"or "Where is the bathroom?", and I realized that this was not a time for either of those questions.

I didn't want to be rude and invade her personal space, but as she looked up at me, her chin quivering and no glimmer of hope in her sad eyes, I felt my legs buckling and my arms encircling her in a hug. I said nothing, just hugged her close and prayed silently. I longed to ask her what she was going through and to assure her that God could help her through it, but I couldn't.

We sat there in silence until I spotted Ruth at the other end of the hallway. Calling her over, I asked her to find out what was wrong. As they babbled in Spanish, I noticed some serious tension in the conversation. Ruthie was shaking her head and trying to talk some sense into her. After a while, I felt that I should leave them to talk. I squeezed the girl's hand and made my way slowly to my room at the other end of the hallway.

My mind was racing. What was this girl going through? Who had hurt her? She seemed almost suicidal, and I desperately wanted to let her know that there was hope. Only I didn't speak Spanish, so I prayed that Ruth would have the right words. I know that they talked for a long time and Ruth shared God's love with her.

So many people in life are struggling. They live their lives to achieve earthly goals, and are disappointed time and time again. They see no hope. We pass by these people every day. Maybe we pass them in the grocery store, or sit by them on the plane, or maybe just brush by them in a crowd on the street. The question is, do we stop and help them?

We have the power to bring hope to these individuals. We weren't given light to keep it to ourselves. We must reach out to those around us who are struggling.

How have you shared hope with someone today?