Beauty and brokenness

If you have been around the BSHOP before you have probably heard us use the words beauty and brokenness. These two words are what we often use to describe the neighborhood that we call home.  With spring finally upon us, we regularly encounter the beauty that is embedded in this neighborhood.  Flowers are starting to bud in the park.  Neighbors are back out on the streets.  The unmistakable sound of the ice-cream truck can be heard roaming the streets while kids ride their bikes up and down the sidewalks.  Neighbors are back on their porches, which is where so much life happens here on the West Side.  As we see this renewal of life, it is like seeing the fingerprints of God all around us. 

At the same time, we are also reminded of the brokenness that plagues this neighborhood on a daily basis.  The beginning of this year has been particularly violent with three murders in the first two months of 2018.  Several neighbors and teens that we work with are facing eviction and homelessness.  Lack of resources leaves many neighbors with significant health issues that cripple them every day.  And the students that we work with from the local middle school face almost insurmountable odds every single day.  In the midst of the beauty, we feel the burden of the brokenness of our neighborhood.



Yet, it is for this very reason that we are compelled to live and work in this neighborhood.  We have the great joy of carrying these burdens with our neighbors, and working to bring shalom to this chaos (you may hear us use those terms a lot too!).  We have the joy of seeing “J” find purpose and value when volunteer at the Pavilion, even though his family is struggling through relocation after eviction. We get the joy of seeing under-resourced middle school students rise to the challenge when simply given opportunities like learning to cook healthy meals at Resurgence lab. We have the privilege of walking with young adults in our mission school as they learn more about the character of God and His heart for the poor.  And in all of this, we have the great joy of helping people understand the love of our God.

This is why we are committed to our West Side neighborhood.  We get to experience this beautiful life every single day.  Thank you for helping us continue to bring shalom to our neighborhood.