A Word to the Hopeful

The Kansas Lawsuit. Read by Kevin Shinn
The Kansas Lawsuit.

Just like the annual
Prairie fires of Kansas
Wafting north
Each Spring
The acrid smoke signals
An arrival of disruption
A minor irritation
For those like me
But a grave threat
To the vulnerable
Who can’t take respiration for granted.

©Kevin Shinn, March 2020

I could sense it as soon as I opened my phone this morning.  It’s a very distinct aroma, unmistakable actually, especially if you’ve ever found yourself surrounded by it. It was immediately suffocating. Some of you know firsthand what I’m talking about.

The smell of fear.

It’s starting to set in.  Losing a job. A severe drop in income. The tension is rising in your home. Fear turns minor annoyances into massive detonations. All the while, the looming question won’t leave the forefront of your mind.

What am I going to do now?

My advice is this. Find someone who is Hopeful. They will know what to do.

To you who are full of Hope right now.  Your job might not be threatened and your economic viability might be secure regardless.  This is good news. Whatever reason for your Hope, make sure you don’t treat it like toilet paper.  

Don’t hoard it.  Don’t stockpile it.  Give it away in mass quantities.

Wealth and prosperity are not limited to money.  In fact, an abundance of money can create its own fearfulness.  Having the means to ride out this crisis could eventually backfire. Money is good, but it doesn’t create Hope.

The war against fear isn’t funded by monetary means.  Money follows Hope into battle. It never leads the charge against fear. Money is always important. It just can’t be in command of the army.

Become generous in Hope and you’ll find you also possess the know-how to be generous with money. I speak this from recent experience when I was wrecked with inner poverty.  The words and presence of the Hopeful led me through the flames of fear and out into fresh air where I could breathe again.

If you are Hopeful today, give Hope away in record donations to those who need it. Don’t be stingy. It will do much for your heart as well as toward those you are blessing.

And share some of that toilet paper too.