I am arrested by this poignant pictorial post about a home that once knew Love. A home whose lovely bones bear witness to better times; moments when it's grandeur was acknowledged and admired. C-Tann's simple statement says it all...'Someone once loved this home.'
To love a thing or someone is to proffer one of life's greatest gifts. Love clothes life with dignity and respect. Love grants us the courage to face life. When we loose the ability to give love to ourselves and others, our dwelling places also begin to reflect the winter of our despair.
Abandoned homes and abandoned people are becoming increasingly more difficult to ignore. Varying forms of economic affliction have scourged communities across the nation. In America's heartland, neighborhood landscapes are littered with the carcasses of homes whose owners have left. Folks no longer whisper about the condition...they simply sigh with resignation as lawns become overgrown with weeds and houses begin to sag under the weight of neglect.
This past Monday, agents of Audu Real Estate took a different kind of educational field trip. I contacted Marge Palmerlee who is the Executive Director for Dégagé Ministries in the Heartside district in Grand Rapids, MI. She invited us to come down and take a look around her place.
It was a cold rainy day, and as we arrived the crowd had thinned out. The center closes down at mid-day and re-opens in the evening. Tables and chairs were being stacked and the floor and kitchen cleaned. The earlier buzz of activity had thinned out as folks had gone to jobs while some who had no place to go lingered around the tables or outside. You see Dégagé, a ministry which started in 1967, is an outreach of Love to foster dignity and respect for those amongst us who have lost everything. It is all about the power of re-building community through the power of Love.
As we toured the facility, I was struck by how clean it was. Marge explained to us that the patrons were largely responsible for the upkeep and care. Many of these individuals are homeless, some live in low-income housing and the majority are struggling with some form of mental illness. Through the ministry of Dégagé, folks are being given the opportunity to rebuild their lives.
Support services at Dégagé include: job location assistance, lockers to store personal items, laundry facilities, bathrooms with showers, a State ID program, referrals to local health care professionals, low cost meals and counseling. It is this the loving life renewing work of many members of the community which serves as a mortar to begin the process of re-building. Supporters of Dégagé include individuals and businesses.
Karen's story is one example of how this mortar of Love works. Marge shared with us about how Karen's life had hit rock bottom and she found herself at the ministry, broke and broken. You can read the full account on Dégagés' website. Through the support of the programs at Dégagé, Karen began to put in place the building blocks of her life. One day, an area employer came calling. Marge recommended Karen for a job and supported her through the job interview process. Today, Karen is gainfully employed. In fact, she came back to Dégagé to give a gift to the ministry in gratitude for the care she received.
This is a template for what it's going to take to get back on our feet as local communities. It's going to require all of us rolling up our sleeves and setting about the re-building of lives. It starts with mowing the grass around the abandoned home, sweeping the stoop littered by trash. It continues with reaching out to a neighbor and inviting them to your home for a meal...
Alienation is a human condition. Our physical space merely mirrors it's presence. The cure for this malaise which leaves our communities forlorn and our souls' forsaken is Love. You and I are our brother's keepers. Through the power of Divine Grace, we become the instruments which God uses to mend broken lives. This truth is a fundamental foundation of the building blocks of life and of healthy neighborhoods.
Dégagé Ministries ~ 144 South Division
Grand Rapids, MI 49503 (616) 454-1661
Copyright 2008 Audu Real Estate All Rights Reserved
Other Related Posts & Topics to check out include:
inspiration: What I Know To Be True...
inspiration: Forgiveness is not human...it's Divine
inspiration: What It Means to Walk Through the Fire.
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Lola, thank you for your kind words, I appreciate the mention. This is an awesome post! I am bookmarking it and flagging it for a feature. I'm off to check out the link to the ministry. Enjoy your evening. Regards, Carolyn.
Lola, what a great field trip idea. Amazing what is happening and your moral and spiritual understanding is right on target. Have a good weekend, my friend.
Lola, This post is beautiful and so is the ministry. We can all help and sometimes even little things we do can help a lot. I know help will be needed here for our soup kitchens especially on Thanksgiving and I plan to help. It may not be much but it's something.
Carolyn, I hope that more people take a moment to read your post. As real estate agents, we have a vital role to play in the building of community. One of our agents, Ed Vogt volunteers on Friday's at God's Kitchen which is a local soup kitchen. A labor of love empowers the receiver and the recipient. Without it, we begin to decay from the inside out...
Thank you Missy. Appreciate your stopping by to read and comment.
Carol, Thank you for comment. There is no such thing as a 'little' act of kindness. You are a great example of someone who continues to give of their time and talent here on Active Rain and elsewhere. Often these 'little' acts of love impact people in ways that are beyond our initial comprehension. Blessings to you as you seek to find ways to serve individuals in your community...
What a wonderful ministry! Every word of your post touched my heart. I would love for you to post this in my group, ACTIVIST 'Rain'. I started the group before my personal leave...so I need to give it a lot of TLC. THIS is what it is about. Check it out when you have a moment. This is so beautiful...and so are YOU! GBU!
I have been in the area for sometime and have heard of the ministry but have never researched what they do. Thanks for the post. In times like we are in they do so much for the people that are affected by the downturns in the economy.
Lola,
Thanks for the post. A true joy to read and very inspiring, a ministry in and of itself.
I read your story (and Karens) with pure joy in my heart. Not saddened because of what is going on around us (although the sadness never quite leaves does it?) but joy at the giving of others to help out our fellow man.
Just in case no one told you lately: You're a gem.
Lola, What a beautiful post. You and your agents are so wonderful to go and see first hand what is going on in your community. You are right, we all need to reach out and help. Thank goodness for Degage Ministries and their commitment to the community. All some folks need is a little help and a lot of encouragement and they will grow. Thank you for bringing this to our attention.
What an amazing ministry! The photo of the interior of Degage looks so nice and welcoming. It is these type of ministries in our cities that help people who are struggling to survive. Their work is often overlooked in the community, great job Lola!
Lola~ Oh My Gosh! I LOVE it. What a way to give back to the community. I don't know if there is one like that in this area or not.... Everyone needs help at some time or another, even the agents!
Lola- This is just poetic and brought tears to my eyes..its what I believe..its how I live..right now I am cleaning someone's pool..because they don't have the money to do so..making a difference..one person at a time! These types of actions so much back to you!
Lola - What a heart lifting story. We take too much for granted today, think too much about ourselves and not enough about those less fortunate who can use a helping hand. How appropriate that the Degage Ministries be located in the Heartside district of Grand Rapids.
Elizabeth, Thank you for your comment. I will check out the Activist Group and will be happy to submit the post there as well.
Terry, Thanks for stopping to read and comment. As real estate agents, most of us are more familiar with the ministry of God's Kitchen because of GRAR's volunteer commitment. I'm thankful that Marge was available to take us through the facility and share with us how extensive the ministry is. There are so many things which become difficult or next to impossible when you don't have an address...
William, Thank you for your comment. :)
Kris, Karen's story is true inspiration. It is a testimony to the power of God to help us to change even when we may have made poor choices. In a sense, everytime people walk into Degage Ministries, it's a vote with their will and feet to take one small step towards the process of transformation.
Audrey, I'm glad that we were able to see what Degage is doing. One of the great things about Grand Rapids is that there are ministries such as Degage and others which are reaching out to be a source of assistance. The challenge is to each of us to renew our desire to live in awareness of those in our own neighborhoods and communities who are struggling or simply need a friend. I think that at one time or another...that encompasses all of us.
Patricia...we were all amazed by the Women's Lounge. Even more so when we learned that 30+ women had slept there just hours prior to our arrival. It is truly a safe haven.
Vickie, Thank you for stopping to read and comment. You are so right in noting that many agents have had to leave the business or fallen into hardship due to the economy. This is something that we don't talk about, but it's a reality.
Midori, Your giving spirit is what we love about you! I am so thankful that our paths crossed through Active Rain and the Blogger's Choice Group. You live out your example in service and reaching out to others. Thank you for all you do. I appreciate you!
Donna...I too was struck by the significance of the name of community in which Degage is located. Thanks for stopping here.
Lola...
I will be back in the morning to read this. I took my meds a little while ago and I'm afraid I've gone loopy :)
See you in the morning my friend.
TLW...ROAR!
Our church has a ministry to the homeless and to unwed moms...... I used to be very involved with the homeless ministry...we would help people who had fallen through the cracks of the Governmental bureaucracy and had almost given up on society:
give them a mailing address
When we would help them in these ways they were so grateful!!
Our church just recently bought a home for men that will help those who want to work their way back into society a way to do that!!
Lola...what a work of love helping the destitute is!!!
God is good!!!
BTW....I am featuring this post in, "Christianity and Real Estate"!!!!
Lola- Thanks for post that is relevant for all times and now in particular. I believe that recent events in the life of our nation are to a large extent the result of lack of caring and love for others on the part of people who failed to live up to their stewardship responsibilities that included respecting the dignity of others.
I am pleased to discover through your post that many on AR share your views on the importance of love and caring. It is going to take a lot of caring, sharing and genuine respect for the rights of others to live a dignified life, to pull us out of the circumstances in which we find ourselves.
Before this crisis, at the shelter where I coordinate volunteers to feed the howeless, we have been feeding an average of 240 people breakfast on Sunday mornings. The clients include men, women, and sometimes, children. They represent a variety of backgrounds and cultures. Some appear very well educated and always express appreciation for the help they receive. We don't know their names. It doesn't matter. Most important is that we are reaching out and caring for another human being.
What a precious post---I truly enjoyed reading your words.
I am the one who had the privilege of giving Lola and her team a tour of Degage Ministries. It is always exciting when people share our passion and vision for reaching out to those in need as this group did. We are so blessed to be a part of a community where people express their care and concern. We love to share the exciting things that are happening here at Degage and the lives that are being changed so if anyone else would like a tour, please give me a call at 616-454-1661 or just stop in at 144 S. Division. And a special thank you to Lola for raising awareness of the work that is being done here in Grand Rapids!
Lola, As always you are an inspiration. Thank you for reminding us that there are good things to still look to in these "troublesome" times. Keeping positively focused is a challenge. Reading this can inspire us to keep moving. Thanks again!!!
Lola,
Your writing is so incredible. You seem to create word pictures in the mind of reader from your writing. If everyone gave back just a little to our world it would be a much better place. Thank you for bringing such an incredible establishment into the spot light so others can feel the glory it creates!!! What an inspirational read!!
Thank you Lola!