Stories of Us - December 4, 2020 (1)

Stories of Us - December 4, 2020
Posted on 12/04/2020
Partnership Educators,
It was a Halloween night like most others but for the Thomas family, it was well short of normal.  Courtney and T.J. Thomas are the parents of three children, one of which is undergoing treatment for Leukemia at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta.   Because their child's immune system was compromised they decided to not go trick-or-treating or to hand out candy. In order to let the neighborhood children know that they wouldn't be handing out the candy as normal, they placed a sign on the front lawn that simply read; "Sorry, no candy child with cancer.  See you next year!"
To the Thomas' surprise trick-or-treaters passing by their home read the sign and decided to instead leave candy for the children who were indoors.  Mostly on their own.  "I can't stop crying, If anyone thought there was no hope in our kids and teens you're wrong."  Mrs. Thomas said.  
Many think of hope as an impotent wish, a vague, flimsy idea that things will be better in the future.  Hope is real.  It's measurable.  It has life-saving powers.  And it can be learned through real-life actions.  Maintaining hope in times of crisis is hard work, but it's worth the effort.  The authors of Hope Rising How the Science of Hope Can Change Your life write, "If you apply the science of hope to your life, it will change you.  If you embrace the language of hope, you will talk differently, act more intentionally, and live your life with a greater purpose than you ever have before."  
The empathy that was demonstrated to the Thomas family "Was just the medicine we needed," Courtney explains.  It is the small gestures that remind us that we are all in this together and that hope and love still exist.  
I wish for a hopeful and love-filled weekend for everyone.
Rob
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