Anchoring yourself in hope
Chan Hellman is a “hope” expert but he didn't grow up that way. Chan grew up in a small farming community in Northwest Oklahoma with a population of less than a thousand. His family was dirt poor. Chan's parents were “hippies” who protested the Vietnam War and were engaged in the drug culture. In time, Chan understood that the “family business” was illegal. His childhood was filled with constant fear and shame.
When Chan was in the seventh grade, his parents announced they were going to divorce. His dad moved back to Tulsa. His mom tried to cope but struggled with severe depression. One day, she just stopped coming home from work.
So, at that early age, Chan's parents were gone, his only real meals were school lunch or at a friend's house. Chan was embarrassed of his situation and who he was.
Two events changed the course of his life.
At school one day, as Chan was sitting on the gym bleachers, Gerry Walters, the middle school basketball coach, sat down next to him. Walters put his arm around Chan and leaned close and said, “You are going to be alright, Chan.” This simple act of authentic kindness showed Chan that he mattered — he was a person of value.
The second event was around the same time. Chan was sitting home alone in a dark house because the electricity had been turned off. He remembers everything — the look and feel of the couch, the warmth of the dark summer evening and being alone with a gun under his chin. Chan thought about his options. Would he be defined by his situation or could he imagine a future as Walters had defined. Chan decided he was better than this, he was going to escape his poverty, trauma and shame. His future would be better than his past.
It's been a long road from then to now. Hope has become a personal journey and a professional one for Chan Hellman. Hope is the reason he's alive today. Hope is the anchor and the anchor is planted in his faith in God. That boy who was beaten down by circumstances would one day marry, have a family, pursue a graduate education in psychology, and become a professor at the University of Oklahoma and be able to talk with humility but clarity on how to live a hope-centered life.
Chan writes in his book “Hope Rising,” “When you are anchored to hope, you have the best chance to overcome difficulties and navigate challenges. No matter what you face, no matter how big the challenges, you can know that God is bigger than what you are facing.”