The Hope In Christmas


December  5, 2017
Often as the holiday season approaches, we get busy! We are busy with our kid's Christmas concerts, piano recitals, office parties, not to mention shopping for the perfect gift for each person on our list! I think sometimes we get lost. We put so much into trying to make Christmas be a perfect holiday, when the reality is, the Christmas we see in movies and T.V. is NOT REALITY! I have to admit, I have been trapped in this cycle too, and then feel let down once Christmas is over because it didn't live up to my expectation of what Christmas should be...

Then I think back to last year. 2016 was a big year for Courtland's Hope Foundation, we were able to purchase equipment for many children, but my favorite part was Christmas... We were able to give a bike to a child, a child who may have never had the opportunity to ride a bike because adaptive bikes are expensive. When I saw the joy on that child's face, I got a little choked up. You see, Christmas in that moment was more than just the giving of a bike, it was a promise of HOPE- Hope for the future and the excitement of what the future could hold as the child could gain mobility and motor function by learning to ride that bike.

I think 2012 was my favorite Christmas as an adult. As many of you know, Courtland did not walk when he was a toddler. He had a walker but did not walk independently. Courtland had just received walking crutches a few days before Christmas and my sister-in-law, who is a physiotherapist was going to teach him how to use the crutches.

We arrived at my brother's home for Christmas celebrations on December 22, it was the only time we could all be together that year. We brought out the crutches and my sister-in-law tried to teach him how to use them. It seemed that he didn't understand what to do. Suddenly she looked at me and said "I don't think he needs those!" She instructed him to pat on his legs like he was drumming and then to try to walk around. He WALKED by himself all around my brother's kitchen! HOPE... HOPE was born in me on that day! I suddenly had a new HOPE, a HOPE for my child's future and the new opportunities that mobility could bring.  

Amidst our Christmas preparations, I think we sometimes forget the HOPE that is attached to Christmas. We live in a hurting world, a world where there is not a lot of hope. BUT, wonderful things can happen if we take the time to have HOPE.

HOPE in itself is the belief or expectation of good things to come. HOPE is attractive, allow it to be a beacon in your life that reminds you and others that the future is worth looking forward to. We should always hold HOPE in our hearts, but sometimes the days are tough and sometimes we lose sight of Hope. Choose this Christmas to BELIEVE, and to HOPE for the future! 

Merry Christmas from The Courtland's Hope Foundation Family!
We wish you HOPE and Happiness for the New Year!

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