Rachel Nagy MA, LPC, NCC
One of the very first things I noticed about Gateway of Hope is the word “Hope” inscribed everywhere. It made me stop and wonder exactly what Hope meant to me and what it means to the women who come to see me. I began to examine Hope, really look at the way that I felt about it, and ask what it does in my life. Dictionary.com defines hope as “a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen”. Hope is one of the first things that I think of when it comes to counseling. It is what drives people to take that first step towards healing and change. Hope tells us that we are worth more than what we may believe. It says, “Maybe, just maybe things can be different, I can be different.” It may also say that there is light instead of darkness. Sometimes we are unable to generate that Hope on our own. When we are sitting in the darkness, it can be hard to believe that one day things could get brighter.
I believe, as a counselor, that my job is to come sit with you in the dark. I can bring the light with me until you are able to hold it for yourself. While I sit with you, I remind you that there can be Hope here. Sometimes it is hard to believe or hold on to Hope, but that is something we can help each other with. We can reach out and say, “Here, I have Hope and I will walk with you until you do too. Then we continue together until we reach the change that is needed. Women helping women is an incredibly powerful thing. I believe passionately that we can foster Hope within one another. That is part of Gateway of Hope’s mission and mine as well, to empower women by meeting you where you are at. As a part of that, I have some questions for you. What does Hope mean to you? If you are unable to find Hope, how can we help you? When you have Hope, how are you reaching out to women around you to share that gift? It is together that we can rediscover Hope and find healing.
“Hope is being able to see
that there is light despite
all of the darkness.”
~Desmond Tutu~