INSPIRASUNS

I debated whether to do this topic in the little blog this morning, but maybe it’s Father telling me to move forward. It’s just been weighing on me, and it makes me sad. Now that I have you wondering what the heck she’s going to say…

Well, for decades there has been a sign at the end of the street where our church is. The sign hangs on a beautiful post, and it directs people to the church. You see, the neighborhood where our church stands has many little winding roads and offshoots here and there. It’s actually easy to get lost. Oh, and did I mention that the community was built around our church? Yes, it was the first building in this now very large area.

There is a ton of construction going on right now: new homes being built, older homes being demolished and rebuilt even larger. It’s sad in so many ways to see the old wonderful homes go away, along with much of the landscaping. I applaud those who are trying to save large banyan trees and the beautiful royal palms. And yes, new landscaping is brought in. The community is changing. Many of the houses now look like each other, although yes, there are a few very large estates being built that are, let’s just say, unique, with multiple buildings on them.

Sorry, back to our little sign. As I mentioned, it hangs and a elegant pole that fits the old Naples theme, at the end of our street. I’ve attached a picture here to this little blog. It simply tells people to turn here to come visit Trinity-by-the-Cove. This week I got a call from a woman; she and her husband are building the new estate, um, a very large estate, near where our sign sits. She mentioned that the sign will now be in the way of their driveway and new mailbox.

As you can imagine, my thoughts went immediately to, here we go, she wants the sign removed. We chatted for a little bit, and yes, that is what the conversation was about. She was very nice, saying she had checked with the city and confirmed the sign was on her property. They were happy to remove it and bring it to the church if we wanted to save it. Whoa, Nelly Bell, I thought, slow down a bit. Did I mention that the buildings on this estate don’t even have completed walls, and she wants the sign down like now?

Well, I won’t go into all the specifics, but I will say that the sign is actually in the city right-of-way, not on the homeowner’s property. We have a few folks involved now to try to work with the couple. There are many options, including just relocating the sign a few yards north in the city right-of-way.

It may sound like it’s not a big deal, and I really don’t have enough blog space to tell you all the reasons why it is. It directs people not familiar with the neighborhood, many of whom are older. It’s a longstanding piece of history that goes along with our church. It has stood as a small symbol of that history for decades.

It just makes me sad that the couple, though very nice in the conversation, was so quick to just say, basically, we’re removing it. My hope is that through some future dialogue they will come to realize the importance of our little church in this community, and the importance of the little sign to direct others to it.

I know that Father will guide this situation as he is guiding everything else in this process. I have faith that the right thing will be done 🙂 .

Have a good day, friends, and once again, thanks for letting me ramble about things that may not be a big deal to some 🙂 .

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.