Restored

When we found the building where Do Goods Mercantile is now, it was a sad sight. There were horrible roof leaks that had damaged the walls, deteriorated pipes that created plumbing nightmares, missing windows that had been boarded up, and walls that were crumbling from all of the termite damage. It took a lot of imagination to think that this building was worth saving or that it could ever be good again. There was a lot of fear involved in imagining what could be - because while that held hope in one hand, it also held a tremendous number of unknowns and “what ifs” in the other.

A year and a half later, I am so thankful that we didn’t move on to something more predictable and less messy. In a world where we so often cast aside what becomes worn out or weak (sometimes, simple because we don’t know how to fix it), it’s been good to take part in this restoration… to see something become better than I ever imagined it could be. It serves as a physical reflection of something I desperately need to remember. In a sort of strange way, seeing what this once-dilapidated building is becoming - with plenty of time, hard work, imagination and community - reminds me of the greater truth, which is this: people who are in need of help are not to be passed over. People who have tried to hold together their own crumbling walls shouldn’t be cast aside. There are less messy options, no doubt… but with time, hard work, imagination and community, sometimes people - much like this building - can be restored.