Barn Raising

I have always said that one of the saddest things about the society that we live in today is that lack of "community". Now, I may be the only one that feels this way, but I have always desired a return to the values that came before us.

Long ago, if someone within a community needed a barn the people all around them would gather for a day or a weekend and have a good old fashion "barn raising" party. Some would grab tools to build a structure and others would grab tools to build a meal. They would come together and get the job done (many times faster that anyone could do it today).

What a sense of community that must have been. I was always jealous, because I thought that sense of "community" was dead and gone in most people.

Then a very strange thing happened for me and the community in which I reside. A little friend of ours named IKE came blowing through, and I found that the idea of "community" is not dead and gone. It still lives very strongly in the hearts of people today. All we have to do is open our eyes to see it.

You see, my family and I recently moved into a new house. It is literally just a mile down the road from our old one; it is just a little bigger so that my "herd" doesn't feel that we are living on top of each other. But, with the move came a new set of neighbors (I really like the ones in the old house) and the whole "it is going to take a while to build a relationship" thing. Well, it didn't take as long as I thought it would. The Friday before the storm came through, neighbors came over to help me board up my windows and prepare to ride out the storm. We then moved over to the next house and did the same. While drenched with sweat and hands on knees due to not just the work but the speed in which we did it, I could not help but have a smile on my face. I very clearly remember thinking, "We are having an old fashion barn raising." My longing for that sense of "community" was being fulfilled.

The help did not stop there. After the storm, families came together to cook on grills. Food was shared, stories told and "community" was becoming stronger. When someone needed help, others were there. Everyone literally began leaning on their neighbors and friends to make this very hard situation a little more bearable, and it was.

I know all of you that are not around the Galveston/Houston area may be hearing nothing but horror stories about the storm (if you are hearing anything at all). And don't get me wrong, the devastation was tremendous. But, I was able to see something very beautiful come from something so devastating. I was able to find a "community".

Thank you all for your support and prayers. And thank you to my new friends that live just a few doors down. :)

God Bless and Keep Looking Up!