Today I saw a man who hasn’t worked in eight weeks he was down not out

Last week I met a man going through divorce and great adversity he too was down not out

Both while down,  were optimistic for the future, whatever it might hold

But that’s not always the way

Recently I chatted with a man who was down, I mean down, no way back down!

Given up down.

No hope for the future, no vision, no direction, no dream – Utterly spent down

He had worked hard, many years in the same job but it’s gone

Many years in the same marriage but it’s gone

Many years bringing up his children on his own, now they’re gone

Alone, dejected and down. Where’s the hope, where’s the future

Of an age where employment is hard to find, an age where younger seems better

Experience counts for little and he was down, down and out.

We talked — Is there a way back, did he want a way back, was he prepared to rise up

Face the reality of his situation and climb above it — We talked, we listened, I explained

Up not down, options not requirements, open not closed

He was prepared, he just didn’t know there was an option, nobody gave him the time

Or — The hand of hope!

No one explained just how he could climb back out —  But he can.

Now he’s down not out — Soon he’ll be out not down

Then he will be revived, rebuilt and restored.

The future is exciting if you’re prepared to look — He is.