A Seed of Hope

As I am surrounded daily by the word hope. "Inspiring Hope...Empowering Potential" I have recently been reflecting on the significance that hope plays in our lives. Hope is vital to every persons survival, especially when the odds are against them. Lack of hope causes us to accept our situation, leading us to believe there is nothing better. But hope can pull us out of our deepest despair causing us to exceed the expectations society has given us. Hope breaks cycles of poverty. Hope brings higher education. Hope inspires dreams. Dreams inspire action. Action brings change.

Tom Davis tells a story in his book "Fields of the Fatherless". The story takes place in the French Alps.
At the time, the deforestation had almost completely destroyed the land. The mountains and valleys were barren, wildlife had deserted the area in search of greener pastures, and villagers had abandoned their homes because their springs and brooks had run completely dry. Elzeard Bouffler, had been planting trees on the barren hillside for more than three years. Bouffler meticulously sorts through a large pile of acorns and picks out 100 of the best seeds. It was a rather mundane task nobody would notice or even care about. Yet during those three years Bouffler planted 100,000 seeds 20,000 of which had sprouted. Over the years the area began to look entirely different. A chain reaction in nature was occurring: water flowed in the once empty brooks. Meadows, gardens, and flowers were birthed where once complete desolation ruled... A vigorous forest inhabited by farms and families, now covered the hillside. The beauty of the land had been restored for everyone to enjoy. All of this took place because of the effort of one man planting seeds. Where everyone else saw stripped hillsides void of any value, a Shepard saw the hope of seeds being planted that would one day bring back the beauty and glory the land once possessed. One person has the ability to completely revolutionize the life of an abandoned child, a foreigner who is here to study or work, a single mom, or even an elderly widow. Your creative energy could be the very thing that helps him or her keep going and even experience God's love for the first time. The question is, will you be a seed planter? Will you just look at the devastation around you and find another place to make your home or will you plant a seed of hope in the lives that have been stripped bare by the misery of this world?