“I feel that I am on a mission on behalf of Hope and on behalf of my son, Lawrence, who in many ways, and in his own way, is Hope to many.”
~Leo
The Story of Hope
Hope came into my life on a February evening in 2002 as my ex-husband and I strolled along Frankfort Avenue in Louisville, Kentucky. We stopped as we came across a beautiful art gallery named Project Hope. Project Hope had been created to uplift the spirits of people after 9/11. The paintings there were mostly of angelic forms. There in the midst of these paintings was this beautiful angel with a rainbow over her head, holding what looked to me as a red heart. She had an angel at each side and beautiful tones of gold and blue cascading water from the center of her heart. She was absolutely breathtaking!
I stood there knowing in my heart I had to have her. She hung from the center of the gallery overlooking everything! It was a healing experience just to stand there and contemplate her! This overwhelming feeling of protection overcame me. It was as if she were there to reassure everyone who stood in her presence that everything was going to be okay. I snapped out of my trance when Rolf started to play the guessing game. What was this angel's name? After a couple of guesses I got it ... Hope... that was exactly what she made me feel!
I proceeded to tell him I had to have her. She will one day hang from the center I dreamed of founding. He laughed at the thought. "She's probably a fortune!" he added. "And what is the center's name?” he asked.
I had not gotten as far in my manifestation process to have a name for it. That is when he came up with A Ray of Hope. It was absolutely perfect! That is what we both felt our son Lawrence (who has autism and cerebral palsy) was for many and still is today. He manages to touch the hearts of those he encounters and bring hope to many in spite of his limitations.
I called the gallery... Hope wasn't for sale... yet the artist Anne Ress Boone asked to meet me. When we met, she asked me what it was that I saw in this painting.
I proceeded to tell her: "I see the rainbow which to me represents the seven chakras (7 energy centers); I see the red heart which to me symbolizes that healing comes from the heart and it stands for the healing power of Love; I see the three angels and three is a sacred number to me... the father, the son, the holy spirit or the mother, the maiden, the crone... the power of three. I see the healing waters ..."
I could have gone on and on. Every time I took another look at her there were more things to be discovered! She then told me that every painting she ever created would first come to her in the form of a vision and with a message. When she had painted Hope the message was she was to live in some sort of healing center. She then said “she's yours!” I couldn't believe or grasp what had just happened; all I knew was Hope was mine... I knew it from the first moment I laid eyes on her. She and I were connected!
Since then I feel I am on a mission on behalf of Hope and on behalf of my son, Lawrence… who in many ways, and in his own way, is Hope to many.