"Wounded and now Mended"

A few weeks ago, some of us were talking at The Mess.  Someone mentioned how it is difficult to describe to people what it is that we do at The Mess from day to day.  "You know I try to put it into words and it sounds like this, 'We make art, drink coffee and hang out.' I would like to share with people how meaningful it is and I end up just saying, 'Well you'll have to just come and see for yourself!'"

We experienced a situation recently, that beautifully illustrates what we see happening at The Mess as we grow towards being healthy community.

We arrived early to set up our space at 666 and soon discovered a piece of art had been vandalized.  Someone had slashed and punctured a canvas that was hanging on the wall.  We were all shocked and horrified that such a thing had

happened!  "Do people not know what the artwork means to all of us?",  "Is this a personal attack on me?",  "Was someone hurting so much that they did this to a canvas instead of another person?",  "What am I going to do when I find the person who did this?",  "What was this person thinking?",  "Did someone think at all?"  These were some of the questions flying around the room.  Emotions were running high! We were raw, hurting and all sharing in this pain together.

The artist whose piece had been damaged was so upset he suggest we just throw it out!  No one supported that idea. Instead, we started talking about restoration.  A conversation took place with about six to ten different people giving suggestions on how best set about repairing this torn canvas.  A plan developed and a few people executed the restoration process.  Hope started to return and excitement began to build.  The work ensued for about three hours.  When the patching was complete the piece was held high for examination. Everyone admired the work that went into the resurrection of this masterpiece.  The artist looked at the canvas carefully and noticed, "It has a scar...it's wounded!  That's what I'm going to call the piece, Wounded...no wait a minute...I'm calling it Mended.  It once was wounded but now it's mended!

We were all in awe!  We could feel earth and heaven overlap.  

We spoke about how that is what happens at The Mess. We all come through the doors wounded, but with prayers and support for one another, we become mended masterpieces.