Day 10: Galveston, Texas.
We drove slowly through the neighborhood next to the place called BackTrack and far from the water and beaches where seven million people play each summer. Few people ever go north of Broadway on this island. But he did. And the story he is writing fuels the story in my heart to find my own left in this world.
A lounge that used to be the gathering place for neighborhood locals is shuttered now. The floors of some homes are still painted with the muddy, moldy residue of the last hurricane to overtake Galveston in 2008. The few houses repaired by the government became reminders of how new pain can be born from our feverish attempts to fix pain. Improvements were made, property values increased, and the people could no longer afford the place they called home.
“Everywhere Jesus went, He invited people into His story – and His story is this – ‘you are not beyond repair, you are full of worth, you are more valuable than gold.’ We just want to be part of His story in this place.” He points to the growing number of homes now being repaired by volunteer teams, working alongside homeowners. And he’s teaching me that fixing things breaks things – but restoring things brings healing and hope.
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You can meet my friend and read more of the story of turning left here. Josh will be a chapter in my book one day.