I am a Hope Dealer! Are You?

I am a hope dealer!

"What is a hope dealer," you ask?

A hope dealer is someone who has been down a rough path. Whether it was horrible things that happened to them or negative choices they made leading to even worse choices until one day they find themselves doing things they never would have imagined and enduring evils no man or woman should have to.

I know a lot of people who have been down these rough paths, events and choices leading them to people, places and lifestyles they never meant to encounter. Many will continue down those roads, living a life filled with rage, hate, depression and/or anxiety.  They will die before they find the end of the path they are currently on.

There are many more that make it to the end of the path and start down a new one. While they walk down their newfound path, they are consumed with hate and depression. They find sleep to be fleeting because they are overcome by nightmares and unable to get over all that has befallen them. They have no idea why things have befallen them, and because of it they are worse for the walk they have had. They may be done with their old life, but it defeated them in many ways and they live in constant fear of it reoccurring or shock at all that occurred. They never get over what happened to them.

This is not the story of a hope dealer. Hope dealers do more than just survive, they thrive! A hope dealer is someone who finds that same new path to walk down as everyone else does that makes it out alive. In the beginning, they may feel resentment and anger, depression and fear. These are but fleeting feelings, for they have gained strength and wisdom on their journey, allowing them to work through this and emerge better, not bitter. There are many who make it this far, yet they do not stand among those who are dealers of hope. This is simply one more piece in the elaborate puzzle that makes up a hope dealer.

Some will start down their new road and never look back, never acknowledge and never share that trip with anyone; others will share it only behind closed doors with a select few. They also are not hope dealers. Hope dealers realize that the reason they walked down the path they once did and came out on the other side was for a reason! Those reasons were not to ignore what happened, or keep it to themselves. No, they came out on the other side so they could encourage others by sharing their stories of victory. They live to share their strength, experience and hope at all times.

Hope dealers don’t just talk behind closed doors; they are loud and proud everywhere they go. Not proud of where they have been, but proud of where they are today. They realize that it is not only the people who are trying to get into recovery that need to hear their message, but the people who are still using. Even more than that, sometimes it is the mother or father, son or daughter, husband or wife that needs to know there is still hope for the person they love. We are never in a location or around an audience that doesn’t need to hear what we have to share. I honestly believe that everyone needs to hear the message we hope dealers carry!

If you have a story of recovery and would like to be part of the #HopeDealer movement, send us a picture or two of yourself and your story and we will get it up on the wall as soon as the new site goes live!