Imagine asking a nonprofit to help re-build your house after it was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Imagine that when they come to your house to see what needs to be done, they find more problems than just the roof. Imagine hearing that your WHOLE house needs to be torn down and re-built.
This is the scenario of an older couple in Gulfport, MS. The Hope Community Development Agency is working to tear down and re-build their house. Today we worked on the demolition.
When we got to the site, we were all given various tasks - move wood to the dumpster, tear up the flooring, remove shingles from the roof, knock down walls, sweeping away dust, sawing wood, and the list goes on. We worked for hours and hours doing tedious, yet super important, tasks. And at the end of the day, we got to do one of the biggest tasks- physically knock down the building with our bare hands. We started with the frame of a house and ended with a pile of wood.
I felt kind of like a brat today. While I was sitting there complaining about my back hurting and having a few splinters, it made me realize that the couple whose house we were tearing apart had nothing. They thought they were getting a simple roof repair, but instead they were having their house knocked down and re-built.
I've been so blessed to have the things I do. And the next time I complain about not not getting something that I want, I'll remind myself that I have everything I need. And I'll remind myself of this couple that has nothing. But they still have hope. Through adversity, they have hope that one day they will have their home back. Because like I was told today, there's no place like home.
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