Be The Bucket Brigade

I’ve decided it’s time to lose a few pounds.  Actually, I decided that a long time ago but I’m finally getting around to spending time on my feet attempting change.

There’s a mall not far from the office.  During lunch, I’ve been trying wander the hallways at a ‘brisk’ pace a few times per week.  Burning calories is the goal, but it's a sad place to be, actually.

I researched the mall's history.  Someone (actually many of them) spent a small fortune (This, a relative term as small doesn’t resonate with me.  Huge might be closer to truth) on this retail structure.

Efforts to create a scaled-down Mall of America never saw success.  Currently, with few exceptions, storefronts remain empty and boarded over.



There are a number of people who walk there regularly but I’ve never seen more than a dozen at a time.  It’s well lit and temperature-wise, it’s reasonably comfortable.  But it is apparent that current owners are not interested in making any investment.

Nor are they interested in upkeep.  At any given time, walkers navigate an estimated  100 buckets passively placed at strategic locations for the purpose of catching water as it leaks from the ceiling.  They could double the number of containers and still not protect much of the interior from damage.

Ceiling tiles are found in places they should not be found.  Oak and maple flooring buckles under the decaying force of standing liquid.  Carpeting soaks up whatever it can as it encourages mold and its unsavory issues.

Of course, while zigging and zagging, I think.  I wonder what happened to the hopes and dreams of investors.  Looking to the future, I wonder what should happen to this structure.  I wonder what it would cost – what its already cost.  I wonder if new choices indicate good money poured after bad.   I wonder about – well, probably everything someone could wonder about.

This is a property in transition.  I’ve heard about a possible retail/condo mix.  I’ve heard that it may be completely razed.  Since the future cannot be told, why would anyone protect it?  After all, it might end up being no more than a hole in the ground.

I ponder its future resurrection.  For all practical purposes, the owner of this building has given up.  Certainly, this is his decision to make.  Interestingly enough, this adjudication may seriously impact the outcome with respect to the phoenix-like inquiry rolling around in my head.

If the building continues to deteriorate, does this not limit the possibilities for the future of this structure?  If a possible retail/condo option presents itself, but the damage is so extensive as to prohibit an investment in such an idea, will that hole in the ground be the only remaining option?

Do we do mimic this scenario in our own lives? Simply speaking, it’s a matter of hope – or lack thereof.  If we’re in that place of hopelessness, how do we fight it?

How do we re-invest in the shell of what we were to become what we’re meant to be?  (Note:  If we believe that we are made in the image of our Creator, this will never become good money after bad.  You're free to disagree, of course)

Hopelessness, I believe, is grounded in ourselves.  So then, perhaps the ‘cure’ would be to get out of ourselves in favor of getting into the lives of others.

From choir days, there is a hymn that visits frequently.  You can listen (We Are Called by David Haas) or just read the lyrics.  (Music is always a better way, in my opinion but you can choose.)

“We Are Called" Lyrics

1. Come! live in the light!
Shine with the joy and the love of the Lord!
We are called to be light for the kingdom,
to live in the freedom of the city of God!

Refrain: We are called to act with justice.
We are called to love tenderly.
We are called to serve one another, to walk humbly with God.

2. Come! Open your heart!
Show your mercy to all those in fear!
We are called to be hope for the hopeless,
so all hatred and blindness will be no more!

3. Sing! Sing a new song!
Sing of that great day when all will be one!
God will reign and we'll walk with each other as sisters
and brothers united in love!

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Micah 6:8

I think that this means that passive, wishful-thinking buckets are not the answer.  Instead, we are called to BE the bucket brigade.  We are called to work together to douse the embers of hopelessness in ourselves and others.  We are called to serve one another and in doing so, we are serving ourselves and the Kingdom.

I’m suggesting that we actively analyze and follow our answers to these two questions:

1. What is it that you run towards? 
2. What is it that disturbs your soul?  

The first will help you discover positive passions.
The second will help you discover a new purpose.
Both will lead you and others out of hopelessness.

Let us not grow weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9