Thanks for that. I have opinions, but not really a front person, but I do encourage people wherever I find myself, not to give up hope. One incident comes to mind. I was in hospital a few years back with a deep vein thrombosis and while waiting for days in the emergency ward, there was a young man brought in who had tried to commit suicide. Because I was in the bed nearer the nurses station I could hear them discussing him disparagingly. He had been held over night and he came down to the desk in the morning and asked if he could be discharged. One nurse sort of snarled at him 'you can't go, you have to wait for a psychiatric evaluation, go back to your bed!' - I listened to the conversation that followed among them, apparently he had attempted suicide a few times, and one of the comments I heard was 'hes just a total waste of space' - I off the bed and asked if I go talk to the young lad (who I later learned he was only 19) the nurse said basically 'please yourself'. I went down to the end of the ward, he was sitting on the side of his bed head in his hands. I said 'hi do you mind me talking to you?' he said that it was okay. I chatted for a while and could hear his hopelessness, when he finished, I said 'well, you know why you didn't die don't you?' he looked right up at me and stared right into my eyes, I continued 'its because God has a plan and purpose for you'......in all my life I have never seen HOPE returning to someones eyes like that, he had such sadness but when I said that sentence, I saw a flicker that literally lit his eyes. I explained how God loved him and that everything he was feeling can change if he is prepared to trust God. I asked if I could pray for him, and he said yes, as I was praying quietly and privately for him the nurse, who made the disgusting comment about him, came up walked passed us and said 'oh I don't believe in all that praying stuff!' I stopped praying looked right at her and said 'that's why YOU can't help him' - she scuttled off. Anyway, the upside is I kept in contact with him after I got out of hospital, he came round to my house, played computer games with my teen son and began going to church with us. He flourished in the love of God and then moved on. We lost touch, but about 5 years later I was passing the hospital when this man came running over the road towards me in the street calling Trisha. I looked over to see it was him, he grabbed me hugged me and said I am so excited, at the same time he was calling and waving his wife over to me. She had just had a new baby and they had come from the hospital after the baby check up. He was gushing to her, this is Trisha I told you about! Well it was amazing to see him with his little family after all the troubles caused in his life because of a broken family. He had said at the time I just want someone to love and start my own family to do better than what I had. God is good, always, and I am grateful that I got to see the results of encouraging him that day. Can you imagine how many people we don't know about that we have encouraged to go on and do better in their lives. Words are powerful, and I one thing my children have learned from me over the years is 'if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!' haha - there goes my sermon of the day! haha