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Stories of Hope and Inspiration After Violence Response from a PastorPhil’s story is a good news story for sure. In some ways it is a story of resurrection and new life - a rebirth of Phil. It appears he had first to hit bottom - to die. At that point, he rises from the darkness of his life. For Phil, he seems to have discovered something of his own goodness and capacity, in other words, he discovered HOPE. As well, he gained a new confidence in his ability to handle the life he faced. Both this HOPE and the CONFIDENCE have allowed him to set out on a journey to realizing his dream of a family reunited. Now, that takes courage and faith. The image of Abraham in the Hebrew Scriptures comes to mind. In the midst of uncertainty, he set out into the unknown. Well, in some way Phil set out on such a trek. And it looks like the trek is leading him back to life. That being said, it was no miracle and it was not without significant effort, commitment and discipline on Phil’s part that this renewal occurred. He deserves all the credit in the world for what he undertook to do and managed to accomplish to this point. He deserves support and encouragement from those around him as he continues his quest. I am sure that he will face challenges and that there will still be dark days. But, with support his dream can become a reality. And perhaps there is in Phil’s story an element of the miraculous - read: WONDERFUL. Rev. John Jennings, Pastor |
