Beauty moved into the neighborhood like the words spoken into chaos LET THERE BE LIGHT and there was and we were no longer afraid.
I wrote this as I sat in the empty room, steel gray walls surrounding me. I could’ve been overwhelmed by the old expectations of the program that I had been hired to get off the ground, but the redeeming message of beauty had been working its way through my life. I knew its power, and since I was placed here in this time and season, I was sure this was the plan.
What was to be a makerspace under a non-profit was now an empty room full of questions. An inspired and hopeful vision had come to a standstill out of anyone’s control. Years passed and faces changed before the time was right to move forward again, and I was offered the job. I had just come out of a long winter of grief and was ready for something to kickstart me forward.
As one who loves to create meaningful spaces, I was excited but nervous. It felt like I had entered an unknown galaxy, deep and mysterious, but I knew something special was waiting to be found.
I sat in the quiet of the room. As I prayed I heard this:
"BLESS YOUR SPACE take authority with Love and Beauty. By faith, open the spaces generously, make room for Spirit to gather the people, to beckon, to whisper in the quiet of the soul. Make room. Be intentional. Don't lose sight of the invisible within the business."
I began the next day by reading blessings within the steel gray walls. Over a few weeks I played inspiring music. I worshipped God. Creative friends joined me and we talked about our dreams for this side of town and for our friends on the streets. We stirred the stale air with life, with possibility, with imagination and excitement.
I was reminded of a phrase that I wrote in my journal a few years before. “He gathered together the hearts of men to bring the Eden back to the city.” It felt like this was part of something beautiful and life-giving on our little corner.
My friends and I collaborated. The first change was adding bright and fun color to the walls. It brought the room to life! We spent the next weeks experimenting and creating to get the invisible wheels rolling. We invited creative friends from the streets to come and use the space. The act of getting in there and moving in a spirit of faith and freedom greased the atmosphere and gave the room permission to be hopeful, to be peaceful, and tangibly carry the Spirit within its walls.
I won’t lie, it wasn’t always fun and easy. Creating something from nothing is down right demanding. There were a lot of decisions to be made. There were left turns and U-turns. And carrying someone else’s dream was a heavy climb on the wrong mountain. Thankfully, I had the freedom to experiment and make it something. But there were still many questions.
God made a garden in the middle of the wasteland, and in that garden made a man and said, "Learn from me, and do this in the rest of the world."
What I haven’t told you is our building shares a city block with other non-profits and together we serve the homeless and those hurting from deep poverty and mental health. These issues have produced a population of people that are rejected by the community at large and left to their own chaos. This is where my attention has rested for many years asking, “what are we missing?”
The only thing I knew to do was invite Spirit, pray, listen, and trust my gut, even when the answer looked different than expected. As my friends and I worked imagination into the room, we explored the question, ‘how would this room best serve our friends who suffer'?’ Clothing, meals, basic needs, counseling, and other services were covered.
What they needed was BEAUTY.
Like Light that rushes through a crack the first chance it is given beauty quietly offers hope; a song buried under a carcass of time becomes a key, and the door swings wide.
I believe as we become the redeemed and restored glory of God walking and LIVING in the world, we live out our purpose creating and caring for the world around us. We can cultivate our own garden full of beauty and nourishment, love and trust, always moving the boundaries to include those just outside of them.
I also believe what we set out to create or build will have its way creating and building us. This happens within a delicate dance. Forward, back, back, in and out, spin— giving our hand to Love and trusting ourselves to create something incredible and perhaps unexpected.
What has become of this place that once stood empty and forsaken?
A garden. A place of nourishment. At the table of creativity art becomes our friend, and paint and clay and yarn have the freedom to heal. It is a beautiful and peaceful respite from the chaos of the streets. To know the stories around the table is to be changed by them. I have been changed by them.
Beauty moved into the neighborhood. It created a garden. It set up a table of belonging. Beauty became a deep wisdom without words. And it welcomed all who needed it, including me.
~T
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