Holding on to Dreams When
Life Knocks You Down
A rough morning, a resilient boy, and some firefighters in Honduras reminded me how to hold on to my dreams in the face of unexpected blows.
Let’s start at the beginning of this story. A long, long time ago… Nope, too far back. After all, the hero of our story, José Fabián, is only 11 years old!
José Fabián has a huge smile. He lives with his mom, grandma, little sister, and older brother. With the help of José Fabián’s mom, his grandmother runs a small shop to support the family.
His sponsor sent him a gift and his Child Champions helped him buy his very own bed with it, something he’d always longed for. Our small team of writers and photographers had come to capture stories of how kids in La Ceiba were finding hope.
When we heard about José Fabián’s gift, we knew we wanted to hear him share his story and take some photos and video.
A Special Day Turned Sour
The day we visited, José Fabián knew he was going to be the center of attention. And you and I both know the pressure we can feel when we must deliver a presentation, or when we just know that we’re going to be in the spotlight for a few minutes.
The morning started with a visit to José Fabián’s Hope Center. Then we went along to the nearby park where the Child Champions take the kids for recreation.
José Fabián was playing on the soccer field. Suddenly, a ball hit him — and down he went.
He knew our team was there with our cameras, and as you can imagine, it wasn’t easy to handle being knocked down on camera.
José Fabián was so disheartened he just lay on the grass for a while. His Child Champions checked on him and were glad to see he wasn’t hurt. But his special day seemed to have been spoiled for him.
For a while he wouldn’t speak to anyone, and my manager was beginning to wonder if we would need to cancel our interview.
Dusting Off and Giving It Another Go
I know what it’s like to feel embarrassed and disappointed. So, when he got up and went to sit on a bench, I seized the opportunity to go talk with him.
I crossed the soccer field and sat next to him for a few moments in complete silence.
Then I asked him if he was doing OK, and he nodded.
“How do you feel?” I asked. With his hand he gestured, “So-so.”
José Fabián with his mom, Dunia.
Remembering what it’s like to feel like you’re the only one who’s ever felt this way, I shared that the same kind of thing had happened to me. When I thought I was having a good day, boom! Suddenly, something happened, and things just didn’t go the way I’d planned.
I explained how I discovered I had two options. The first one was to cry and stay there, in that position of hopelessness.
The second was to cry, because I do need to cry, then wipe off my tears, dust myself off, and get up to give it another try.
So, I asked José Fabián, “Would you like to give it a try?”
In that moment, José Fabián chose resilience. He nodded and said, “Yes!”
It seemed he just needed what we all need — someone to put themselves in our shoes. Someone to listen to us and to affirm our feelings.
Capturing His Story
I asked José Fabián if he was still willing to give us an interview and whether he wanted to go back to play or to go home and do the interview right then. He chose to go to his house. And so, we did.
Will you permit me a small parenthesis here as I look back on that day?
Sometimes life can get hard. Sometimes it is a BIG ball that hits us right between the eyes. And sometimes we just want to stay on the grass where we fell. But we’ll find that there are people willing to sit with us and listen if we’ll give them a chance.
Getting knocked down isn’t easy, and if you feel like José Fabián right now, please keep reading, and allow me to encourage you through the rest of this story.
Parenthesis closed. 🙂
I gathered the team, and as we walked to José Fabián’s house, he exchanged some more words with us. We realized he was feeling more and more comfortable. His body language expressed it all. He felt strong!
We got to his house, and José Fabián ran to look for his mom, calling, “Mom they’re here!”
His mom, Dunia, came out and pulled up some plastic chairs for us to sit in the shade. Praise God for shade in La Ceiba! The temperature that day was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit (39 Celsius).
Kalis, our team member from the Dominican Republic, was leading the interview while the rest of us supported her by taking notes and photos.
During the interview, José Fabián described what a difference his sponsor’s gift made in his life. I’m here to tell you what happened next.
More Than We Imagined
At the station I hopped out of the van and told the firefighter in charge that we had a child who wants to be one of them someday and asked if they could show him around the station.
Not only was the answer “Yes,” but we watched in amazement as he went far above and beyond.
José Fabián got out of the van with a big smile.
The firefighter shook his hand and welcomed him. He took José Fabián to where they have the uniforms and asked him if he wanted to try them on. Of course he said yes!
He hopped into the boots, pulled the pants on over his jeans, then the jacket and the helmet.
We couldn’t stop smiling.
But there was more to come. Other firefighters joined in, and they helped José Fabián up into the huge fire truck and showed him how everything worked. He even got the chance to honk the horn and turn on the sirens!
Then he climbed off the truck, and they took him to the back of the truck and handed him the hose. They turned it on just for him! Can you imagine the look on his face?
My manager stood next to me grinning as we watched the young boy’s dream ignite. She commented on how just a couple of hours ago she had doubted we’d even get an interview with him and told me she’d never been happier to be proven wrong.
And this is the cherry on top: The firefighter in charge told José Fabián that they have a volunteer program for children and teens, teaching them about being firefighters. And the best part is, it’s free.
José Fabián´s day was made!
You can watch the whole thing in this video we made of this special time!
José Fabián gets a little help with the fire hose.
Do you remember how this story started? With a boy face down on a soccer field feeling defeated and a story gathering team filled with uncertainty about the day.
And it ended with that same boy standing tall and experiencing a dream coming true.
What I Learned From José Fabián
Here are some lessons I took with me from that day:
- It’s OK not to be OK. In the midst of your vulnerability, you can let people know your struggle and listen to you. People who can help you dust off and wipe your tears.
- There are always people who are willing to help you — maybe not in the way you expected, but in ways you need that may be even better.
- When you make the decision to keep going, something changes inside of you that others can see.
If you’re in a situation that has you feeling discouraged, don’t lose your joy in dreaming. Please know there is a God who is always moving circumstances and people in His perfect timing to fulfill dreams.
José Fabián checks out the radio in the fire truck.
José Fabián, firefighter extraordinaire!
As I think about dreams, I’m reminded of the words of Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
Let’s allow ourselves to keep dreaming and believe good things can happen, especially when we are part of helping others fulfill their dreams.
I think there’s a bit of José Fabián in all of us. A little bit of shyness, some uncertainty, but most of all the resilience to get up again and find the joy that comes when we keep on dreaming.
