Finding Signs Of Hope In Milwaukee
Old Things Coming To New Life Remind Me Of Hope
by Eric Elkin
“We don’t focus on the things that can be seen but on the things that can’t be seen. The things that can be seen don’t last, but the things that can’t be seen are eternal.”
The chair in the dining room was a wonderful addition to the house renovation. It was old, but it made the whole room feel stylish. Later in the day, I saw my wife sitting in the chair reading. She looked so comfortable. When I first saw it, I thought the chair was intended as a decorative element. I was wrong.
My sister-in-law shared with us the story behind the chair. She found it in some consignment store, buried deep in the corner. Even though it was barely visible, she had a hunch it might be worth something. When she asked the clerk about it, she got a snarky reply.
The clerk's comments and the chairs' location buried underneath discarded objects revealed the nature of its worth. The chair had passed through several hands. It was too nice to throw away, not valuable enough to use. What the chair needed was a person like my sister-in-law. A person with an eye for what could be, not what was.
“What the world, social and political, concrete and mental, really needs is not new things, but the old things made new.”
A discarded chair brought back to life was the epitome of our Memorial Day weekend trip to Milwaukee. Every place we went in our visit was something old reborn into something new. We biked a beautiful trail once designed for trains. We drank a vegan beer in a building attached to a 100+ yr old house.
The Brewer's Hill neighborhood of Milwaukee, where my sister-in-law and her husband live, is series of homes coming back to life. The houses in this neighborhood had been left for dead. Then a person with an eye for what could be decided to act.
I enjoy spending time with family and eating good food. Yet, on this last trip, I realized how much Milwaukee is a source of hope. When I needed to hear it most, the city reminded me that old discarded things can come to new life. The joy I felt in Milwaukee was being in the presence of those who embraced coming to life.
Fear is an enemy to renewal. Fear only has an eye for death and termination. A spirit held by this kind of despair becomes not only angry but also lost. Lost spirits cannot see life in discarded things. They need, even though they do not want, a set of eyes trained to see life.
Mr. Rogers used to tell children to look for the helpers. As a boy, it helped calm his fears about the world. Those words of advice were in my mind when I read this text this morning. Maybe, they could be applied to those feeling hopeless. Look for the signs of old things coming to new life. It may just breathe hope into a heart threatened by despair.
Click to read 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Reflection Questions:
How is it with your soul? Does it need signs of hope?
When was the last time you saw something old being used in a new way?
Did seeing this thing help you see the world differently? If not, could it in the future?
Where do you find inspiration in your daily life?
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