I make all things new!

Weeds on a very cold January day.
Yet, come spring - there will be

new leaves and birdsong everywhere.

Saturday took me into Chicago’s gritty Englewood neighborhood where my friend lives and works. Side streets had not been plowed. In block after block, houses, some of them nice ones, had plywood windows – foreclosed.

These times are especially tough on those already hurting economically. People are put out onto the streets because they suddenly can’t pay mortgages – and perfectly good houses sit empty.

It’s a drug-infested neighborhood, and nobody wants to invest in it. So apart from a fried chicken franchise and a Family Dollar Store, there are few businesses, few local jobs. It's pretty barren.

My friends tell stories that make my heart weep. But at the same time, they have a vision for this community – what it once was and what it could be again. They are already seeing past the hopelessness and despair.

I don’t know how to unboard the houses and put mothers and children back into them; I don't know how to jumpstart the local economy.

I do know how to pray and support my friends’ courage and vision. Here are some promises from Isaiah that give me hope:

Isa 35:1 The desert will rejoice, and flowers will bloom in the wastelands.
The desert will sing and shout for joy:
it will be as beautiful as the Lebanon Mountains and as fertile as the fields of Carmel and Sharon.
Everyone will see the Lord's splendor, see his greatness and power.

and

Isa 51:3 I will show compassion to Jerusalem, to all who live in her ruins.
Though her land is a desert, I will make it a garden, like the garden I planted in Eden.
Joy and gladness will be there, and songs of praise and thanks to me.

And from Revelation 21, the voice from heaven that says, “Behold, I make all things new.”