First break
Are you a writer waiting for your first break? Submit a 600-word article, typed, double-spaced and ideally as a Word attachment, to ptruth@netcomuk.co.uk. Writing tutor Fiona Veitch Smith will choose the most promising ones. For free writing advice see her website www.thecraftywriter.com
Fiona's Critique
I was in two minds about publishing this article when I first read it because the most interesting bit, the description of Amy's granddaughter's death, was written as a separate piece. Amy's original article focused on an unnamed man who went to Dartmoor prison. I suggested to her that readers could relate more readily to the death of a child than to a stranger going to prison. She reworked the article and this is the result: a touching piece of writing that encourages us to embrace the hope we have in God while highlighting the work of a worthy charity.
Fiona's Top Tips
- Most editors won't give you a second (or third!) chance to rewrite an article, so make sure you send in the most compelling version you can.
- Be as specific as possible in your references. First Break has had a number of submissions lately that refer to ‘a man', ‘a woman' or even just ‘someone'. Editors like to put real names to real quotes and to know where those quotes come from.
‘Hope for the Future'
by Amy Bartlett
In his letter to the Christians at Corinth Paul wrote about faith, hope and love: “If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in the world.” 1
There is a saying: ‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast' and I suppose it is true to say that we all need hope to keep us going in this life. The hope of success gives people the incentive to study and train and work hard. On New Year's Eve there is the hope that something good will happen in the next twelve months. Christian hope, however, is more than this; it is not just wishful thinking, but a firm confidence in the promises of God.
It is not by chance that Paul cushions hope between faith and love, because faith in God and love for God (and God's love for us) help us to know what Christian hope is all about. In John Bunyan's allegory A Pilgrim's Progress 2, which may have been written when Bunyan was in prison, his hero, Christian, was locked up in Doubting Castle by Giant Despair. The only way he could get out was by using the key called ‘Promise' – and it is faith in God's promises, showing his love for us, that brings us away from despair and gives us hope for the future.
Many prisons built in the 1800s have the inscription: ‘Abandon hope all ye who enter here' above their gates. This is a translation of the inscription above the Gate to Hell in Dante's allegorical poem, The Inferno 3. What dreadful words to put before people going into prison. It may be said that they were criminals and deserved to be punished, but, as Paul, a prisoner himself, said: ‘All have sinned and come short of the glory of God'. 4
St John wrote that for all who enter Heaven: ‘ God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain.5 What a contrast to Dante's stark words.
While I was preparing this article my faith and that of my son and daughter-in-law was severely tested. Their baby daughter – called Hope – died after only a few hours, which caused us great sadness. It was heartbreaking. However, we gradually began to think that God must have a purpose in this somewhere, and we decided to form a charity called Hope for the Future. 6
Like many people, we had been shocked by the sight of small babies being confined in squalid circumstances in Romanian orphanages. However, as we looked into the problem we realized that many families were so poor that the babies had been put into the orphanages in the hope of finding a better life for them.
Our eyes were opened to the terrible poverty widespread in so many places. We could only help a little to begin with in Romania, but we now have the joy and satisfaction of seeing the charity growing in other places as far afield as Ecuador and India. We are reaching out to desperately poor families, people who have lost all hope. In addition we aim to help Christian pastors and hard-working students living in difficult circumstances.
We work with partners in these other countries and the fellowship we have with these splendid Christian people is inspiring. If you wish to know more about our work, please visit our website: www.hopeforthefuture.org.uk
1. Bunyan, John A Pilgrim's Progress , circa 1765
2. From Dante, The Divine Comedy, 1300 - 1321
3. Romans 3:23
4. Revelation 21:4
5. www.hopeforthefuture.org.uk
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