Behold, I am doing a new thing;
    now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
    and rivers in the desert. – Isaiah 43:19

This morning I’d like to share just a few more photographs and thoughts from our quick visit to Newington in Georgia, the small town where Rebekah’s mama was raised (see, “Hope in Rural America“).

I mentioned before how there are a lot of ideas percolating and that some of them have already been completed or at least set into motion.

What has been accomplished is actually quite remarkable considering the challenges that come with raising money, and writing grants, and getting permits approved, and then the practical business of actually getting the work done.

There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to the implementation of vision, but one thing it seems Newington can count on is this: if Rebekah’s cousin Zandra says she is going to get something done, then the community can be sure that she is absolutely going to follow through.

Preservation & Imagination:

But here’s the thing: there is so much more that needs to be done in order to secure the future. The challenge, and the solution, looks like a creative combination of preservation and imagination.

People who see change as a threat love their town and they want their way of life to be preserved – but they will never have preservation unless they are also prepared to reimagine the future, and that means change now.

Yes, I know that sounds like a contradiction. But it is not:

• The definition of life involves growth, reproduction and change.
• The definition of death is when the only change you get is decay.

The following is how biology defines the presence of life: “the ability to reproduce, grow, respond to stimuli, maintain homeostasis, metabolize, adapt and evolve.”

Homeostasis (it means the ability to maintain a stable environment in spite of external changes) is what the reactionary elements want. The kind of changes our cousin Zandra has in mind turn out to be necessary for exactly that (the maintenance of community stability).

In other words, progress wants exactly what those who oppose change want – and that is life and stability. Our cousin understands that life and stability require growth, and if you fight that kind of change then you are fighting against the life that you want, and you are shooting yourself (and the community) in the foot.

Here are the rest of my photographs. I think you will agree that this is a town worth preserving – and by “preserving” I mean working hard to implement ideas that maintain homeostasis, ideas that metabolize, adapt and evolve.

“Where there is no vision,” Proverbs teaches us, “The people perish.”

 “Where there is no vision, the people perish…”

Proverbs 29:18

Peace and more peace – DEREK