What we sow in time, we recap in eternity

It's feels like a rat race. One part of the day I am working to help rehab abandon houses in a frame of neighborhood revitalization. The long process includes observation of detail, requires preserverance and where one reaction to a problem could influence the entire process. Another part of the day I punch digit, calculating numbers, analyzing effect of how many house will be foreclosed this week.

This one long process of revitalization, could be annulled by a wreckless rollercoaster action of irresponsible action of poorly regulated mortgage lending practice.

As an effective non-profit organization, we have been capable of turning around more than 30 houses in a year. This was in effect when everything was in place, that includes funding, acquisition, neighborhood organizing, housing counseling, and recruitment of highly qualified contractors who cares about energy efficiency, environmentally friendly houses. When one component messed up, the other will follow.

Meanwhile, we're racing with more abandoned houses, more crime that take place in the abandoned houses, more people leave the neighborhood because of the crime, and more people became homeless or partially homeless.

When I thought about this at work, my mind went back when I was in fifth grade, sitting in "Bahasa Indonesia" (language) class, reading a text book that cited verse from Romans 5:1-5 about preserverance. Even in Indonesian, the every word sang to me like no other. It reminded me that everything I am going through is a process of character building. I hope I'll survive this rat race.