It's Wednesday! I'm coordinating my October-long Celebratimg Place with Kristin Hill Taylor's Porch Stories as she reminds us Brave doesn't always mean big. Last Wednesday I blogged about my passion for the city and cities, about my interest in their restoration, revitalization, and redemption into beautiful spaces for living, working, and playing. I especially singled out Detroit, where so much needs to be done! Detroit has been majorly devastated, but every city has pockets of neglect that need attention—as do many smaller places.
I often point out that the sum of individual actions, hopes, prayers {and sadly, sins of omission and commission} tends to be synergistic, adding up to more than the sum of the parts. Most people's involvement in civic affairs starts out at the very local neighborhood level—often beginning only on the block where they live, frequently inspired by too much trash, or traffic noise, by a vacant lot or brownfield that might resurrect into a garden or a playground. Helping out at the microlevel initially doesn't look as if it will affect the entire city or even that whole neighborhood, but if enough people get involved at their own ground zero... it begins to add up, and just as wonderfully, actions and the results of action often inspire onlookers and passersby to do something similar.
Trusting that a series of small actions gradually will grow and more than add up to impact a major or overwhelming problem is an immense act of bravery. Each incremental move to change the whole takes more trust and more bravery; even with careful planning and prior experience, no one can see into the future, no one knows the results of any plan or project. As in every aspect of life, God calls us to be faithful and persistent... and to start small. What else can anyone do?
"Trusting that a series of small actions gradually will grow and more than add up to impact a major or overwhelming problem is an immense act of bravery." --> YES!
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