balance
Balance. That ever elusive way of life we all seek and so rarely find. You all may have noticed it on our website or other places we write things, but definitions matter to us. We all can distort or simply misinterpret the true meaning of words. This is most often done unintentionally but still leads to avoidable miscommunications or misunderstandings. It contributes to a lack of balance between us and those around us. For brevity, this is not the full definition of balance.
-BALANCE-
NOUN:
an even distribution of weight enabling someone or something to remain upright and steady
a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions:
stability of one's mind or feelings: the way to some kind of peace and personal balance.
VERB:
keep or put (something) in a steady position so that it does not fall
Days before we are opening our third location may seem like an odd time to speak on balance and admit to you all that it has been hard to come by. But, here we are, and here I am (Greg) confessing to you all that, though very excited, grateful, and hopeful, I am also a bit scared. It’s probably a way better strategic move to grit my teeth and only tell you all positive things about how good everything will be and that I’m not fearful at all. Unfortunately, I’m not wired that way. Where I am is what you get, and right now I’m scared because there is risk in growth, there is risk in partnership, and there is risk in doing new things. But it’s places and times like these that what we truly hope in is revealed, or whether we have hope at all.
If you take nothing else from this, know that you’re not alone feeling doubt, fear, or a lack of balance in your life. Hope is not cheap and it is hard to maintain, but it’s damn well worth the fight to hold on to it. Don’t let it go. Take it from someone in a beautiful place I never thought I would be. The doubts and fears never seem to disappear; All we can do is choose how we react and respond to them.
Seeing the impact of what we do on peoples lives has honestly been the fuel that keeps me going through all the fears, failures, and challenges. When you see someone truly begin to understand their value and worth as a unique human being, well, many of those difficulties become trivial in comparison. The scales unquestionably tip in favor of pressing forward and continuing to seek building value and hope in the people we are around and interact with. Some balance is found.
How does an oddly timed confession of fear, balance, and hope all tie together? The reason we exist is in our vision and mission statements and our tagline. But what they all point toward is our desire to help bring balance to people’s lives and through that the communities we operate in. When I had the original vision and dream for Bridge City there was so much excitement and hope for it all. Even before 2020 and all the division that year brought to the surface the world was already a place in need of reconciliation. There were too many barriers and too few bridges, too much choosing of sides and too little meeting in the middle. In all the original excitement and hope for the divisions we wanted to heal and gaps we wanted to bring together I did not account for something. By design a bridge is something that people walk on to cross to the other side of something or to meet in the middle. That much I knew. That was the point. However, what I didn’t consider was how being something designed for others to walk on would sometimes hurt like hell.
So as we move forward doing something new for us by partnering with a church to operate a coffee shop with the goal of more deeply engaging our city we ask that you would meet us in the middle. This is uncharted territory for us. It’s incredibly exciting and it’s honestly intimidating. You can hear more about the motivation behind The Intersection in the body of the newsletter we just sent out and a video that will come out soon. Despite any potential fears I may have we’re going to move forward in Hope. Isn’t that what Hope is after all - Belief in something not yet fully realized and the pursuit of it becoming reality? We’re going to continue seeking to build value in everyone who walks through our doors and who we interact with. We’re not perfect but can promise you that we are going to keep showing up and doing our best to meet you all where you are.
Back to how this started with the definition of balance. We will continue our relentless pursuit of enabling people to remain upright and steady and to help different people groups understand the immense, innate, and intrinsic value we all possess equally. We will also continue striving to be a catalyst for others to find mental and emotional balance and peace of mind while doing our best to equip them to remain steady so they do not fall. Day in and day out we do what we do to help bring balance to our team’s lives, to yours, and to the communities we live and operate in.
One more thing on balance. It’s not achieved with one person, one idea, or one anything. By its very nature it requires at least two things, otherwise there’s nothing to balance. Balance, like hope, is really hard to maintain and cannot be accomplished alone. We’d love for you to walk with us in our pursuit of finding it.
