Growth Spurts

When thinking about Community Development, I think about a child’s growth spurts. Often times as parents when our children are young, we can’t see their growth or progress. We are usually too close to them to notice significant changes. However, after feeding and lovingly caring for them each day, one day all of sudden you’ll look at their pants and notice that they’re much shorter than when you first purchased them. There has been a growth spurt.

Sowing into the work of community development is the same. I believe that it takes time to sow into the lives of people, day after day, helping them to envision the futures of their communities. After we’ve facilitated meeting after meeting, listened to the dreams and visions of stakeholders, participated in neighborhood clean ups one day there is a growth spurt.

Just as I saw the pants on my son get shorter and he no doubt got taller, I can also see our work in the Canyon Corridor Community growing in a way that others are taking notice. Rehoboth Community Development Corporation has sown into this community for the past 8 years and is now beginning to see the fruit of our labors.