Jay Freireich an Hungarian immigrant who came to the United States as a child settled with his family in Chicago, IL.  As the family settled Jay found himself  in circumstances that challenged him. Death of his father, his mom who worked long hours at work to keep food on the table, sickness.  Though, his challenge of sickness brought about an opportunity as well.  When Jay got sick, he had to see a doctor. This was the first time  he had seen a man in a coat and cleaned up.  From this point he dreamt of being a famous doctor.  He found a way to go to college and on to Medical School.  Working in the medical field, he saw many patients that had the high possibility of dying.  He refused to give up hope. “People must have hope to live,”  he said. We may not share Jay Freireich’s same challenges,  though as people in life, we do face challenges.  As we face these challenges, hope is so important.  As I have thought about hope, I have thought, is it really that great of a deal to really keep hoping that something exists beyond the challenge?  I look at my life and picture my own personal life without hope–hope that a circumstance will improve, that an illness will better, that a child will find a way to deal with a trial, that challenge will end–without hope there would be no end to the challenge.  There would not a be an inkling of this will end and I will be better after I get through it.  When I think of hope, I think of this magical four letter word that has much character to help endure through the challenges, hardship and trials of everyday life.  It is a magical word to help us as people know that there indeed is a light at the other end, that there is a reason or are reasons to push through that challenge, whether it be for the satisfactions of completing the challenge, achieving a better lifestyle, knowing that yes, you can do something that you never thought possible, or to get through the heartache of life in general knowing that you did it, that you made it through.  Hope is the four letter magical word, our cheerleader as we face the challenges of life. Where do you find hope in the face of challenging times in life?

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The full story of Jay Freireich is found in Malcolm Gladwell’s Book David and Goliath.