Hope is a powerful thing. If you lose hope it is easy to give up, and nobody deserves to be in that place. I was on a recent trip out West with my family and we met a random stranger who was teetering on being in that place, losing hope and giving up. We were heading back home and ended up having an extended lay over in Dallas. Looking for a bite to eat, we ended up at TGI Friday’s. A man who was sitting next us at another high top table began talking to us, clearly looking for some company. Turns out, he recognized us because we were on the same flight that had just landed in Dallas and we were both on the same flight to Philly which had just been cancelled. He asked me what I did for a living and I told him how I was writing a book about how I met my wife, a love story to give people hope. He immediately said “That’s ME! I NEED HOPE!!” He began telling me his story, with all of the gory, real-life details. Apparently, after 25 years of marriage and two children, his wife was no longer in love with him. She said that she loved him, but was not in love; she wanted a divorce. He was in shock, and had to step back to evaluate his life, and start over.
Thinking about falling in love, let alone finding somebody at his stage of his life was scary and unnerving. After meeting this complete stranger and listening to his story, I thought about how many other people out in the world might be going through the same thing.
His daughter was heading off to college soon and he was so worried about what he was going to do. He also said that she really wanted to see him happy again. How he was going to meet someone new to love and how was he going to handle the quiet, empty house? He was caught in his own tornado of thoughts worrying about her happiness and his own. One thing I do know is that nothing will ever happen if you sit at home worrying. We had such a great conversation and he began to embrace the concept of hope again. So awesome! He started to make plans to try out some new activities and pick up some of his old favorites. A baseball league, mountain biking, maybe yoga or even an art class. Yes, just getting out there means you may meet someone new! When you’re happy doing the things you love, it shows. People want to be around happy people. It’s contagious. You have a better chance of meeting someone when you are doing what you love! I couldn’t be happier that our conversation gave him hope. The crazy fun way my wife and I met helped him to believe that it could happen to him. Guess what? It can happen to anyone! Get in the right mind set, be happy and positive, be willing to take a chance, and yes, anything can happen.
He was SO excited to read our book. We hope it will give him and others the hope to believe in love. It is never too late, no matter your situation. Love can still happen to him and to anyone IF you believe. Have hope and BELIEVE… Its all about love!
