Hope and Encouragement are good friends

Encouragement and Hope were good friends. One day they were walking down the street, having a chat and looking out for people to encourage and give hope to when they found a man who was lost and couldn’t see anyway he would have a future for himself. Hope sat down with him and talked to him and gave him hope – It’s what he does. Encouragement talked to him about the good things he could see in the man and how he could use these good things – It’s what he does as well.

They walked with the man for a while until the man was ready to go on his own, and then he did. This is what Encouragement and Hope do. 

Encouragement and Hope walked on. Encouragement turned to Hope and commented on the fact that the words Hope had just used were perfect for the man they had just met. Hope explained he had learned from an old friend called Trust that it is best to allow the words to come from the heart. Encouragement said how he would like to meet Trust. Hope thought he already had.

Now as they were having this discussion, they turned down a small alleyway and bumped into Hindrance and Impossibility. These two were their nemesis. It has to be said it was strange how no matter where Encouragement and Hope went, they always found Hindrance and Impossibility weren't far away. Anyway, these ne’er-do-wells were determined to discourage and create hopelessness amongst all people. The found if they could do this it would lead people to Hatred. Now you need to know, wherever Hindrance and Impossibility lurked, and they were particularly good at lurking, you could always rely on their gang leader Hatred being just around the corner.  The more people that Hatred had in his gang the stronger and more powerful he became.

The four of them bumping into each other was literal. They bumped into each other as they walked down a narrow alleyway (These sort of things always happen in narrow alleyways). Hope and Encouragement greeted them and politely asked them to move. Hindrance responded simply by deliberately getting in the way, and Impossibility sneeringly pointed out he could not possibly move. The four of them stood staring into each other’s eyes, not in a nice way either. Their eyes narrowed and tension mounted. Hope and Encouragement were peace loving but were not afraid to get into a battle should the matter rise to the level of combat.

As fists clenched and nostrils flared, the tension mounted. Then Hope turned to Encouragement and said “You, know we don’t need to fight today.”

Encouragement nodded “It wouldn’t be fair” he said “considering whom we’ve arranged to meet.”

The two of them agreed and started to back out of the alleyway. Hindrance and Impossibility snarled and growled about how there was no hope of them escaping, that it was impossible to get away, and how they should give up. They paused for a moment to consider what Encouragement meant about it not being fair and who exactly they were meeting. The pause didn’t last long, as Hindrance and Impossibility suddenly smiled.

In normal circumstances Hope and Encouragement like a smile and positively encourage the facial activity, but it has to be said they didn’t like these particular smiles. The reason for the smiles, was that Hindrance and Impossibility had spotted their leader Hatred who was slowly and menacingly creeping up behind Hope and Encouragement. He was good at creeping up on people. He got closer, beside him was his fearsome sidekick Anger. They both crept silently as Hope and Encouragement were backing out of the alleyway. The thing with Hatred is he didn’t like to let Hindrance and Impossibility out on their own. He always wanted to make sure they did exactly what he told them to do, he had obviously never met Trust.

As our two friends backed out of the alleyway, they saw the crooked aggressive smiles on the faces of Hindrance and Impossibility. They heard their snarling and the growling words becoming stronger, telling them they had no way of getting out of this, spitting the words out at them.

Then they heard Anger growl, and then Hatred simply said ‘At last I can finish you’

Hope and Encouragement turned. They stood face to face with Anger and Hatred.

Hope and Encouragement smiled.

Hatred was infuriated by what he saw as belligerence on the part of Hope and Encouragement. Hatred and Anger roared and stepped forward fists raised ready to annihilate Hope and destroy Encouragement, but they both suddenly stopped just before throwing the first punch.

The stopped as they stared in disbelief over the shoulders of Hope and Encouragement as the figures of Hindrance and Impossibility flee out the other end of the alleyway.

How dare they! Hatred and Anger fuelled by hatred and anger (obviously), raised their fists again, but yet again stopped, as this time from behind them, they heard footsteps. Did these footsteps belong to the one Hope and Encouragement had arranged to meet? Was this why they were still smiling?

Realisation dawned on Hatred. He knew and really loathed those footsteps. He knew exactly who they belonged to and he knew he could not defeat the one making them, no matter how he might try, oh and he had tried. Anger wanted to fight, he always wanted to fight. Hatred lowered his fists, Anger copied. Hatred looked at the two friends “Is it Love behind me?” he asked. Hope and Encouragement nodded.

Hatred fled. Anger looked back, he saw Love and thought about staying, but quickly decided this was no place for him today and ran after Hatred.

Love walked up to Hope and Encouragement. Love was strong, Love was big, Love was beautiful and brave. Love greeted Hope and Encouragement with a smile and a big warm hug. Love won again.

This type of conflict happens all day every day, be strong and get to know Hope and Encouragement, meet their friend Trust and do everything knowing Love is the best and strongest of all, and of course …

                …we all know who Love is.