Easy English Listening Practice | Finding Hope When the World Feels Broken | English Podcast

Hello everyone and welcome back to Mr. English Channel where learning English is easy and fun.

I'm Emily.

Hello Emily and hello to all our friends listening at home or in the car or maybe at work.

It is so good to be here with you today.

It really is Paul, I am happy to see you, how are you doing today?

I am doing well Emily, I am feeling very thankful, I have my tea, I have this conversation with you and the sun is coming through my window, it is a good day to be alive.

That is a wonderful way to feel, I am feeling very peaceful today too, but you know Paul, I was thinking about something this morning.

Oh, what were you thinking about?

Well, I was looking at the news and I was talking to some friends online and many people feel a bit sad, they feel worried about the world.

I understand that Emily, I feel it too sometimes, there is a lot of difficult news lately, we hear about wars, we see people who are afraid and it feels like the world is, well, it feels broken.

Yes, broken is the perfect word.

Like a glass that fell on the floor.

It is full of pieces and it is hard to see how to fix it.

That is true, but that is exactly why I'm happy we are talking about this today.

Because even when things feel broken.

There is still hope.

I agree.

And that is our topic for today, how to find hope and peace when the world feels difficult.

We want to share some love and some light with everyone today.

That is a beautiful goal, Emily.

I think our listeners really need to hear that.

I know I do.

Me too.

But wait, Paul, before we get into this very important talk.

We have to remember our friends.

Oh, yes.

Of course.

Friends, if you like our channel and you want to help us.

Please take a second to click that like button.

It helps us so much.

Yes.

And if you are new here, please subscribe to Mr. English Channel.

We make these episodes for you and we love having you in our family.

And don't forget to share this with a friend.

Maybe you know someone who is feeling a little down or worried today.

Send this to them.

It might make their day a little better.

Thank you, everyone.

Okay, Paul, let's talk.

When you see the news and it is all about conflict and wars.

How do you feel?

Hmm, honestly.

At first, I feel a little heavy.

My heart feels heavy.

It is a strange feeling, isn't it?

It's like you are carrying a big bag of stones.

That is a great way to describe it.

A heavy heart.

I feel that too.

I see the pictures of people leaving their homes and I feel anxious.

Oh, anxious.

That is a good word for our learners.

It means you are worried about the future, you are thinking what will happen next.

Exactly.

Many people are asking that question right now, what will happen to my children?

What will happen to the world?

It is a normal question, but you know, Emily, this reminds me of something that happened to me just two days ago.

Tell me, Paul.

I love your stories.

Well, I was walking to the supermarket, it was a grey day, not much sun, and I saw my neighbor, Mrs. Gable.

She's an older lady, very kind.

She was sitting on her porch just looking at her garden.

I know Mrs. Gable.

She always has those beautiful red flowers.

Yes, but that day she didn't look happy.

She looked lost.

I stopped and said, hello, Mrs. Gable, how are you today?

And she looked at me with tears in her eyes.

Oh, no.

Why was she crying?

She said.

Paul, I am just so scared.

I turn on the television and I see so much hate, I see so much pain.

It feels like the world I knew is gone.

Wow, that is so sad.

What did you say to her?

I sat down with her.

I didn't want to leave her alone.

I told her, Mrs. Gable, it is okay to be sad.

It is okay to feel that the world is broken.

But look at your flowers.

Her flowers?

Yes.

I told her the world is messy right now, but these flowers still grow, the sun still rises and you and I are still here to care for each other.

We talked for 30 minutes, Emily.

I told her that God is still in control, even when we don't see it.

That is so sweet, Paul.

You gave her your time, that is a way to fix a little piece of the world, isn't it?

I think so.

When we finished talking, she smiled, she said, thank you, Paul.

I forgot that there is still good in the world.

That is a micro story of hope.

It shows that we don't have to fix the whole world, we can just help one neighbor.

Exactly.

It's about focus.

If we focus only on the dark, we don't see the light.

I love that.

Dark and light.

You know, this makes me think about what Jesus said.

He knew that the world would be difficult.

He didn't say life will be perfect and easy.

No, he didn't.

He was very honest with us.

Yes.

He said, in this world you will have trouble.

Trouble.

He knew about wars, he knew about sickness, he knew about fear.

But he didn't stop there.

What did he say next?

He said.

But take heart, I have overcome the world.

Take heart.

That is such a powerful phrase.

It means be brave or don't be afraid.

Yes.

And it means we don't have to carry the heavy bag of stones alone.

He is carrying the world.

He is bigger than the news.

He is bigger than the conflicts.

That gives me so much relief.

Relief is when the heavy feeling goes away.

Yes, it's like taking a deep breath after being underwater.

You know, Emily.

Sometimes I think we forget that history is long.

The world has felt broken many times before.

But God's love is always the same, it is constant.

Constant.

Another great word.

It means it never changes.

Like the North Star in the sky.

Exactly.

I had a small moment of surprise today.

That reminded me of this.

Oh.

What was the surprise?

Well.

I was making my tea this morning.

I have this old cup.

It is my favorite cup.

But it has a small crack in it.

A crack?

Be careful, Paul.

You don't want it to break.

I know.

I was thinking I should throw this away.

It is broken, it is not perfect.

But then the sun hit the cup and the light went into the crack and made a beautiful little rainbow on my kitchen table.

Wow, that is beautiful.

It was.

And I thought maybe the world is like my cup, it is cracked, it is broken.

But God can still shine his light through the cracks and make something beautiful.

Paul, that is a wow moment.

I love that image, the light shining through the broken parts.

It changed my mood for the whole morning.

I stopped looking at the crack and started looking at the rainbow.

That is so important for all of us.

We spend so much time looking at the cracks in our lives.

We look at our mistakes or the problems in the world.

But we forget to look for the rainbow.

Yes, and the rainbow is God's promise.

It says, I am here.

I am with you.

Speaking of promises.

Paul, if our friends are still listening and they want to share some hope too.

I have an idea.

I like your ideas, Emily.

What is it?

Friends, if you are still listening, please go to the comments right now and type the word hope.

Just that one word.

I love that.

Let's fill the comments with hope.

It is a small way to show that we are all together in this.

Yes, it's like a big group hug for everyone on the channel.

Haha, a big digital hug.

I like it.

So, Paul, we talked about Mrs. Gable and your cracked cup.

I have a small story from my week too.

It is a bit funny, but it made me think.

Oh, tell me.

I want to hear a funny but real story.

Okay.

So on Wednesday.

It was raining very hard.

I was at the park trying to get to my car.

I didn't have an umbrella.

Oh, no.

You were getting soaked.

Yes.

I was very wet.

I was running and I was feeling a bit grumpy.

I was thinking everything is going wrong today.

The weather is bad, the news is bad and now I am wet.

Haha, I know that feeling.

We call that a bad day.

Yes.

But then I saw a little boy.

He was maybe five years old.

He didn't have an umbrella either, but he wasn't running.

What was he doing?

He was jumping.

He was jumping in a big puddle of water.

Splash, splash.

He was laughing so loud.

His mom was standing nearby and she was laughing too.

That is so cute.

It was.

And I stopped running.

I realized the rain is the same for both of us.

But I am angry and he is happy.

Why?

Because he's enjoying the moment.

He isn't worried about his hair or his clothes.

He's just being.

That is a big lesson, Emily.

Sometimes we are so worried about the storm that we forget we can still dance in the rain.

Exactly.

God gives us small moments of joy every day.

Even on the gray days.

We just have to be like that little boy and see the puddle as a playground.

Not a problem.

That is insightful, Emily.

Insightful means it makes you think deeply.

Thank you, Paul.

I went home, dried my hair and I felt much better.

I realized that God is in the rain too.

He is in the joy of a child.

He really is.

You know.

I think one reason people feel so unhappy right now is because they feel helpless.

Helpless.

That means you feel like you can't do anything.

You feel like you have no power.

Yes, you see a war on the other side of the world and you think I can't stop the war.

I am just one person.

That is a very heavy thought.

That is a very heavy thought.

It is.

But we are not helpless.

We have prayer and we have love.

Yes.

Prayer is like a direct phone call to the creator of the universe.

That is a lot of power.

It is the best power.

When I pray, I don't just ask for things.

I say, God.

I don't understand this world.

It is too big for me.

But I know it is not too big for you.

Please take my worry and give me your peace.

That is a perfect prayer.

And you know, Paul.

When we have that peace, we can give it to others like you did for Mrs. Gable.

Right.

We can be peacemakers.

Jesus said, blessed are the peacemakers.

I love that word, peacemaker.

It's not just someone who likes peace, it's someone who makes it.

How do we make peace in our daily life?

Hmm, maybe by being kind to the person at the store.

Or by not getting angry when someone is rude to us.

Or by sharing words of encouragement online.

Encouragement.

That's when you give someone courage or hope.

Like what we're trying to do right now.

Yes, if we all make a little bit of peace, the world starts to look a little less broken.

It's like a puzzle.

If everyone puts their small piece of peace together, we see a beautiful picture.

I love that.

A peace puzzle.

You know, Emily.

I had a little misunderstanding with my brother yesterday.

It was a small conflict.

Oh.

What happened?

We were talking about our plans for the weekend.

And he said something that I didn't like.

I felt offended.

Offended.

That means your feelings were hurt.

Yes.

I wanted to be angry.

I wanted to say something mean back to him.

But then I remembered our topic for today.

I thought the world has enough anger right now.

Does my brother and I need more anger?

That is a very mature thought, Paul.

Haha, I tried.

So instead of being angry, I just took a breath.

I said.

I think I misunderstood you.

Can we talk about it?

And you know what?

He apologized.

He didn't mean to hurt me.

Wow.

So by choosing peace, you stopped a mini war in your family.

Exactly.

It was a small victory.

And it made me feel so much better than being angry would.

That is a great example for everyone.

We can't stop the big wars today.

But we can stop the mini wars in our homes and our hearts.

Yes.

And that is how we show that we trust God.

We trust that his way, the way of love is better than the way of anger.

So true.

You know, Paul.

I think some people are scared of the future because it is uncertain.

Uncertain.

It means we don't know what will happen.

Right.

But I heard a beautiful saying once, it said we don't know what the future holds.

But we know who holds the future.

Oh, I love that.

God is holding the future in his hands.

Yes, imagine a father holding his child's hand while walking in the dark.

The child is scared because it is dark and uncertain.

But the father knows the way.

The child just needs to hold on.

That makes me feel so safe.

We are like that child, the world feels dark.

But we are holding the hand of our father.

Yes.

And he is not scared of the news.

He is not surprised by what is happening.

He has a plan for good.

That is the central message, isn't it?

Even when things look bad, God is working for good.

Yes.

Always, even in the broken parts.

You know, Emily, this conversation has really helped me.

I feel lighter than I did 30 minutes ago.

I am so glad, Paul.

Me too, talking about God's love always makes the heavy things feel smaller.

It's true.

Before we finish, maybe we should recap some of the things we talked about.

That is a great idea.

Let's see.

We started by talking about how the world feels broken and heavy right now.

Right.

And we talked about how it is normal to feel anxious or scared when we see the news.

Yes.

But then you told us about Mrs. Gable and how a small conversation can bring light to someone.

And you reminded us about what Jesus said, in this world you will have trouble, but take heart.

Exactly.

We also talked about your cracked cup and how light can shine through the broken parts of our life.

And the little boy in the rain, I won't forget that.

We can still dance even if there is a storm.

Yes.

And finally, we talked about being peacemakers and holding God's hand in the uncertain future.

It's a lot of good things to remember.

I hope our listeners feel more peaceful now too.

I hope so too.

Remember, friends, you are not alone.

God loves you and he is with you in every struggle.

He really is.

And we're with you too.

We are a family here at Mr. English Channel.

Yes, we are.

Well, Paul, it is almost time to go.

Oh, time always goes so fast when we have a good chat.

It does, but we will be back soon with another episode.

Yes, we will.

Friends, before you go, don't forget to leave a comment.

Tell us what is one thing that gives you hope today.

Maybe it is a verse from the Bible or a song or a person in your life.

We want to read it.

Yes, and please, if you haven't yet, give this video a like, it really helps us reach more people who need this message.

And subscribe.

We want to see you in the next episode.

Thank you so much for listening today.

You are all wonderful.

Yes.

Thank you, remember, God is in control and he loves you very much.

Have a beautiful peaceful day, everyone.

Bye for now.

Bye bye.