My first day as Program Director for the ‘Y” was an eye opening experience. Not only were the walls prison gray (some were in the old hospital green), but the beautiful hard wood floors were warped and looked like a small roller-coaster frame.

BUT GOD GAVE ME THIS GIFT and it was beautiful!

As gray and depressing as the walls were, the attitudes of the limited staff matched.

OK God if I am to teach them all your glory, we will paint from sunrise to sunset, from the mountains to the shore, throughout the entire building. And going up the stairs we will paint murals of children running up a hill, carrying balloons and kites, climbing up to where the hill meets the sky. The sky will turn from the palest blue, with all the shades in between, all the way to midnight blue, with stars, the moon and more. BEING IN THIS BUILDING WILL BE AN UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE! A MIRACLE IN ACTION!

YES! YES! YES! IT WILL HAPPEN…

But first we must be realistic, of course!

(But not really.) With God on your side ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!

So we had to get lots of interior paint. God told me just ask and you will receive. I went to a large paint store and asked if they could sell me any mismatched paint they had at a really cheap price. They said I could have a much as I needed for FREE!

I told them what I was doing, and that it was really going to take lot of paint to cover years of neglect, and to bring this “Y” building back to its days of glory. I also told them I had to get the building in shape before it got cold so the kids would have a safe place to stay before and after school, and on the weekends.

THEY GAVE ME EXTRA PAINT TRAYS, ROLLERS, PADS, BRUSHES, PLASTIC TO COVER THE WOOD FLOORS… EVERYTHING I WOULD NEED TO HAVE PEOPLE HELP ME. ALL FOR FREE!!!!

When I got back to the “Y” I was told none of the staff would help me. They were all too busy in this decrepit empty building. The only thing actually going on in this old mansion were swimming classes for children, with one teacher for a small group of kids in day care, (just one teacher!) There was also a small room where senior men who smoked cigars and played cards for a few hours, unattended, gathered frequently. There was a receptionist at the front desk who had to buzz you in, opening an old iron gate, and two janitors (one daytime, the other in the evening,) and now there was me.

Things were about to change, miraculously!

My answer to all the staff when they said they could not help me was, “That’s OK my friends will be glad to do it with me.”

Who were my friends?

The kids that hung out on the street! The ones who weren’t allowed in the building because they weren’t members! Well, not yet, anyway! They were now my volunteers!

YES!

To be continued…

© Carole Devecka God Given Daisies CaroleDevecka@comcast.net

To see the first story in this series: These Are My Children

To see the next story in this series: A Brand New Day