Hopefulness
- What is Hopefulness?
- How are we Hopeful?
- Why should we practice the virtue of Hopefulness?
- When do we practice the virtue of Hopefulness?
We will continue to memorize the prayer “Thy Name Is My Healing…”
Thy name is my healing, O my God, and remembrance of Thee is my remedy. Nearness to Thee is my hope, and love for Thee is my companion. Thy mercy to me is my healing and my succor in both this world and the world to come. Thou, verily, art the All-Bountiful, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
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God’s love is always with us. He will never leave us alone and promises to help us throughout our lives. Though we do not know what will happen from one day to the next, we trust in God and remember that His gifts and bounties are all around us. And so we are hopeful when we look to the future, confident that we will receive a share of His infinite blessings. With hearts full of hope, we constantly anticipate the outpouring of God’s bounties upon us. To help us remember the importance of hopefulness, let us memorize these words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá:
Never lose thy trust in God. Be thou ever hopeful, for the bounties of God never cease to flow upon man.
Selections From the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Meaning Of Words
Trust
- Edward had a problem and went to Hung Wei for help. Edward knows that Hung Wei will do all he can to help him. Edward trusts Hung Wei.
- Nirmala wants to repair the roof of her house but cannot do it alone. Nirmala’s friends offer to come the next day to help her. She trusts they will come as promised and gets everything ready.
Hopeful
- Iosefina plants a seed in a sunny spot and waters it every day. She looks forward to seeing it grow. Iosefina is hopeful the seed will one day become a strong plant.
- Antonio’s good friend Mattias moved to another town. Antonio missed his friend, but he was hopeful that they would see each other again soon.
Bounties
- Every night when Lilian prays, she thinks about the many things she is fortunate to have. She thinks about her parents, her friends, her teachers, and even the bed in which she sleeps. Lilian is always thankful for the bounties she has been given.
- Reza has many friends and relatives who love him and help him grow. Reza is grateful for the bounty of their love and support.
Cease
- When Tahir turns off the tap, the water stops coming out; the water ceases to flow.
- Even on cloudy days, the rays of the sun warm the earth. The sun’s rays never cease to reach the earth.
Story About Hopefulness
There was once a man with no home, who lived alone on the banks of the River Thames in London. He was very sad and had lost all hope for happiness in life. One day, he walked past a shop and a photograph in a newspaper caught his eye. It was the face of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The man stood frozen, staring at the face. He had never seen ‘Abdu’l-Bahá before and did not know who He was, but he was certain that he must meet Him. The address of a house was given in the newspaper, so the man started walking, hoping to find Him there. It was a very long distance—nearly fifty kilometers—but he kept walking until he reached the house.
The man was tired and hungry when at last he arrived, and the lady of the house kindly invited him in, gave him some food, and let him rest for a while. As he rested, he told his story to the woman and then asked her whether ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was there. The woman assured him that He was.
“Will He see me?” he asked. “Even me?”
Just as the woman replied that she was certain ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would see him, the Master Himself appeared at the door. The man stood up, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stretched out His arms to greet him. It was as though the man was an old friend whom ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had long been expecting. He welcomed him with love and compassion and asked him to sit down next to Him.
Then ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who always knew how to bring lost joy back to people’s hearts, began to speak to the man. He encouraged him to let go of his sadness, reminding him that he was rich in the Kingdom of God! As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá showered the man with compassion, His comforting words began to heal his heart and give him strength. Little by little his sadness drifted away. Before he departed, the man told ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that he would not let his poverty bring him sadness anymore; instead, he would find work in the fields and save his money so that he could buy a bit of land, on which he would grow violets to sell in the market. The man learned from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to put his trust in God and to have confidence that God would confirm and bless his efforts. His despair turned into hope.
Rainmaker
First have the children stand in a circle around you, and then introduce the game by asking them to imagine they are in the desert longing for rain. Start rubbing the palms of your hands together and tell the children that, when you look at each one, they should begin to do the same. Once you have gone around the full circle and all the children are rubbing their palms, tell them to keep going until you look at each one with a new motion, which they should imitate. Snap your fingers as the next motion and then clap your hands as the next, followed by slapping your thighs and then stomping your feet. The sound made by all the children together should resemble the first few sprinkles of rain in the beginning and a great thunderstorm at the end.
A Hope Collage
From MeaningfulMama:
- There are a lot of negative things happening in the world and on the news
- There is hope for the future because of the kids we are raising.
- Explain to the kids that they are the future. They are the future politicians, missionaries, parents, doctors, teachers, and leaders in our world.
- Parents are doing their best to raise them to love God, love people, and develop their virtues
- We then made a hope collage out of children’s faces: look through magazines and cut out pictures of kids, glue down the images onto a piece of paper. After the collage was created, cut the paper into quarters – to cut into four letters – H-O-P-E. You can glue these letters to another piece of paper or hang the individually as a reminder that kids are part of the hope of the future.
Link to other crafts
Make a crown of Hope nd add the quote or prayer to it
Make a felt heart hanger for hope
Color the drawing or draw your own.
