Friday, January 19, 2018

Hope And An Opportunity



As I reflect on the past month and perhaps focus just on the past two weeks, the normally mild climate I live in got hammered with cold and snow. For not the first time did I wonder whether or not I had actually left Wisconsin for warmer weather. As I write this, Emily gleefully texted me that her college in Greensboro cancelled classes the last two days and started late today.

I’ve seen pictures of blizzard and whiteout conditions from Texas to Wisconsin that stretch to the East Coast. Snow drifts and icy patches. Drivers white-knuckling it as they motor along treacherous patches. Passengers equally concerned and anxious as they sit rigid, eyes taking it all in whether they want to or not.

And yet, at least here, it’s getting warmer. Days are getting longer. Hardly any snow, if any, on the ground. Nature gracefully taking over as she always seems to do.

Which brings me to today’s thought.

Any seasonal change, pick one because it doesn’t matter . . . any change from day to night and back to day . . . brings with it Hope And An Opportunity.

I’ve said this before in other posts, but isn’t this a wonderful gift? Each of us, whether we want it or not, need it or not gets a Do Over.

It’s the feeling that no matter how badly the day (or evening) went, no matter how ugly and put upon we are, it can and most likely will change the next day (or evening). Even though it might be a longer period of time (a season), the next one (season) is coming and with it Hope. With it, An Opportunity.

Hope for a better tomorrow. Hope for another change. Hope for another Opportunity.

And Hope gives birth to Opportunity: to do better next time; to right a wrong; to straighten out a damaged or hurt relationship- with others or with yourself; to Do Over and Begin Again. Hope gives each of us another chance.

So . . . the choice is once again up to us . . . you and me.

We can take full advantage of each Opportunity given to us . . . or we can frit it away, waste it. We can continue with the same destructive patterns of thought and action and word choice, or we can change. Worse, we can ignore it all and just settle for what we’ve always done, what we’ve always thought, what we’ve always said and what we’ve always expected.

But . . .

If someone was to come up to you and offer you $10 or even $50 with no strings attached, wouldn’t you accept it? Wouldn’t that cause you to smile? I mean, folks play the lottery all the time and most come up empty, so why wouldn’t you accept a sure thing?
I can’t think of a better gift than Hope. Without it, we are lost and defeated before we even step out on the field, before we even jump in the shower, before . . .

Hope is a gift. And Hope gives birth to Opportunity. Endlessly and on a perpetual basis. Nonstop. Forever. Why don’t we take full advantage of it? Why is it we squander it? Why is it we sometimes don’t even recognize it? If this isn’t something to think about, I don’t know what is . . .

Live Your Life, and Make A Difference!

To My Readers:

I sent the final edited copy of my fifth work of thriller/suspense fiction Caught in a Web to Black Rose Writing. It will drop in April of 2018.  You can check out the cover if you travel to my author page at https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author  I am working with Black Rose on several publicity campaigns so when the “drop” nears, I’ll keep you posted. There will be an opportunity for preordering Caught in a Web, so when the link becomes available, I’ll make sure you know. Unlike my others, this one will be available in bookstores as well as Amazon.

Good News!
I am actively seeking agent representation for Spiral Into Darkness. It is more of a psychological thriller but with an attitude.

Please feel free to connect with me at:

Twitter at @jrlewisauthor

Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/Joseph.Lewis.Author                                           

Amazon at: http://www.amazon.com/Joseph-Lewis/e/B01FWB9AOI /                                        

If you like Thriller/Suspense fiction and are looking for something to read over the winter, check out my novels:

The Lives Trilogy Prequel, Taking Lives:
FBI Agent Pete Kelliher and his partner search for the clues behind the bodies of six boys left in various and remote parts of the country. Even though they don’t know one another, the lives of FBI Agent Kelliher and two boys become interwoven with the same thread that Pete Kelliher holds in his hand. The three of them are on a collision course and when that happens, their lives are in jeopardy as each search for a way out. http://bit.ly/Taking-Lives-JLewis                     

Stolen Lives, Book One of the Lives Trilogy:
Two thirteen-year-old boys are abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. http://bit.ly/Stolen-Lives-JLewis                   

Shattered Lives, Book Two of the Lives Trilogy:
Six desperate and violent men escape. One of them stands in a kitchen facing a 14 year-old-boy with a gun. There are many reasons for the boy to pull the trigger. Mainly, the man had started it all. http://bit.ly/Shattered-Lives-J-Lewis                    

Splintered Lives, Book Three of the Lives Trilogy:
A 14 year-old-boy is willing to make the ultimate sacrifice. High up on an Arizona mesa, he faces three desperate and dangerous men in hopes of saving his father and his brothers. http://bit.ly/Splintered-Lives-J-Lewis

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Thank you for your comment. I welcome your thought. Joe