Dealing in Hope

Napoleon once said that ‘a leader is a dealer in hope’. During the Tokyo 2020 Olympics I have been following the progress of the Indian women’s field hockey team. (I served in India for nine years and all three of my children played representative hockey there.) I have been inspired by the incredible story of hope from Rani Rampal, the Indian ladies’ hockey captain. In her own words…

“I wanted an escape from my life; from the electricity shortages to the mosquitoes buzzing in our ear when we slept, from barely having two square meals to seeing our home getting flooded when it rained. My parents tried their best, but there was only so much they could do – Papa was a cart puller and Maa worked as a maid.

There was a hockey academy near my home, so I’d spend hours watching players practise – I really wanted to play. Papa would earn Rs 80 a day (under 80 pence) and couldn’t afford to buy me a stick. Every day, I’d ask the coach to teach me too. He’d reject me because I was malnourished. He’d say, “You aren’t strong enough to pull through a practice session.”

So, I found a broken hockey stick on the field and began practising with that – I didn’t have training clothes, so I was running around in a salwar kameez. But I was determined to prove myself. I begged the coach for a chance.

But when I told my family, they said, ‘Girls are supposed to do household work – and we won’t let you play in a short skirt.’ I’d plead with them saying, ‘Please mujhe jaane do. If I fail, I’ll do whatever you want.’ My family reluctantly gave in.

Training would start early in the morning. We didn’t even have a clock, so mom would stay up and look at the sky to check if it was the right time to wake me.

At the academy, it was mandatory for each player to bring 500 ml of milk. My family could afford only 200 ml; without telling anyone, I’d mix the milk with water and drink it because I wanted to play.

My coach supported me through thick and thin; he’d buy me hockey kits and shoes. He even allowed me to live with his family and took care of my dietary needs. I’d train hard and wouldn’t miss a single day of practice.

I remember earning my first salary; I received Rs 500 (under £5) after winning a tournament and gave the money to Papa. He hadn’t ever held so much money in his hands before. I promised my family, “One day, we’re going to have our own home,” I did everything in my power to work towards that.

After representing my state and playing in several championships, I finally got a national call up at the age of 15! Still, my relatives would only ask me when I was going to get married. But Papa told me, “Play to your heart’s content.” With my family’s support, I focused on doing my best for India and eventually, I became the captain of the Indian hockey team!

Soon after, while I was at home, a friend papa used to work with visited us. He brought along his granddaughter and told me, ‘She’s inspired by you and wants to become a hockey player!’ I was so happy; I just started crying.

And then in 2017, I finally fulfilled the promise I made to my family and bought them a proper house. We cried together and held each other tightly!

And I’m not done yet; this year, I’m determined to repay them and Coach with something they’ve always dreamed of — a gold medal from Tokyo.”

They didn’t win Gold this year (GB won the bronze medal match against the Indian ladies) but I wouldn’t be surprised if they do in 2024 in Paris if they all demonstrate such determination and passion as Rani Rampal. She is truly ‘a dealer in hope’ and has now inspired many to dream their dreams into reality.

Cross your fingers?

I wonder if you, like me, get a little cross when someone uses this expression (and even action) when they hope for something to happen: ‘I’ve got my fingers crossed‘? Someone else might say ‘touch wood‘ when they, too, want something to take place or to try and gain good luck.

Superstitious expressions

Both of these expressions have their origins in pre-Christian and also in early Christian times. To cross one’s fingers was used to invoke God’s blessing and even to ward off evil, including when a person coughed or sneezed. ‘Touch wood‘ might also refer to touching the wooden cross of Christ but its origins seem to be much earlier as an expression: it derives from pantheistic religions where trees were supposedly inhabited by deities. If you expressed a hope for the future you should touch or knock on wood to prevent malevolent spirits hearing and so prevent your hopes coming true.

Present Hope

I have, however, been forced to reconsider the expressions which I have been using and which also might quite reasonably be annoying others. In particular I have been writing (and saying), ‘I hope you are safe and well‘ as I have communicated with people in these virus-afflicted times. What exactly do I mean by ‘hope’? In itself ‘hope’ is at best an expression of concern but in English etymology it contains no guarantees: ‘I hope you are doing OK‘, ‘I hope you will get better‘, etc. As a Christian, my ‘hope’ should be much stronger!

In Spanish the verb for ‘to hope’, ‘esperar’, is also the same as ‘to wait for’ and ‘to expect’. When a woman is pregnant she ‘esperando un bebe’. This is similar to the Biblical meanings in Hebrew and Greek of ‘hope’ but in both the Old and New Testaments we also find the word ‘hope’ tied in with a ‘trust’ in God. What are we hoping for, expecting or trusting in God in our prayers for ourselves and others? What is the ultimate purpose in our prayers during this time of crisis and in many cases, suffering?

Future Hope

Romans 8 v 22-25 (in the New Testament) speaks of the parallel of childbirth and the expectation of hope, “…as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved…“. It is hope in the future glory we have as an end destination of our trust in God.

As we pray for the day-to-day needs and things that will pass on earth, we are mindful that ultimately our desire is that in all things God’s will is done and that people will place their certain hope in Jesus.

I hope (and trust) that in treading this you, like me, will have been challenged to examine what we say ‘off hand’. I won’t be crossing my fingers or even touching wood as I write this – but, simply, praying that in a time of crisis my hope will be that of expectancy – an expectancy that God will bring light into our dark times, meaning in distress, and joy in unexpected places.

(With thanks to ‘Christian Values in Education’, CVE, Scotland for inspiration)

Hope in anxious times

Deadly diseases

In the 1970s, a student who would one day go on to become one of the foremost clinical microbiologists was advised against doing research into infectious diseases. There was no point, his professor told him. Thanks to vaccines and antibiotics, deadly epidemic diseases, such as smallpox, plague, typhus and malaria, were finally in retreat. All too sadly today – as we remember SARS in 2002, Ebola in 2014 and recognise that by 2016 HIV and AIDS (which came to worldwide notice in the 1980s) had been responsible for 35 million deaths – we are now faced with a new pandemic, COVID-19.

God’s to blame?

Epidemics breed fear and suspicion that multiply (along with modern scams, hoaxes and false news) more rapidly than any virus. Often when a mysterious illness erupts the first unhelpful reaction is to panic and the second is to identify a culprit. The White House recently called COVID-19 ‘the Chinese virus’ and in the 1980s, when the cause of AIDS was still unknown, the American Press accused Africans of having sex with chimpanzees, whilst Soviet agents located its origins in US research laboratories. Interestingly, in 1665 at the height of the plaque in London, the prime suspect was God! Lacking any other explanation, crowds flocked to churches, praying for deliverance from what they interpreted as divine retribution for their sins.

There is hope

Whilst God is not being labelled the culprit for coronavirus, in some places it is indeed causing people to return to Him, if not in a church building setting then certainly via online services, discussions, prayer times and seminars. A school chaplain I know reported that in normal times the voluntary Sunday chapel services attracted 50-60 pupils, the online version was now attracting over 200 participants. In society today, as was seen in 1918-20 (during the Great Influenza or Spanish ‘flu outbreak which claimed more lives than those killed in the Great War), this crisis has spawned an outpouring of mass volunteerism and self-sacrifice across the globe. There is hope!

I know Who holds the future

The world is indeed a very anxious place but as we consider the plagues and epidemics of the past, we can also acknowledge that much good has emerged from such times. Whether it’s wonderful literature (some of Shakespeare’s plays were written whilst self-isolating from the plague) or ground breaking science (Isaac Newton ‘discovered’ the laws of gravity when temporarily confined to his Lincolnshire cottage from disease-ridden Cambridge), we can still point to the One who holds our future and brings Hope to the world at all times, and especially in those when tragedy, fear and death are rife. As a well-known Christian chorus puts it, ‘I know who holds the future, and He’ll guide me with His hand. With God things don’t just happen, everything by Him is planned. So as I face tomorrow, with its problems large and small, I’ll trust the God of miracles, give to Him my all.’ (Eugene Clark)

(With thanks to History Today magazine, April 2020, for historical examples.)