Turning a house, in this case a motel, into a home

It was in May of 2002 when the Lord put it on my heart to go to this old motel and establish a home for single mothers and their babies. When I was in my car I had no idea where he was leading me, but, when you follow his lead you will always end up at the right place. And this is where I ended up, in front of a fenced overgrown old motel that looked as unloved as any place could. However, as I stood there looking at it I never saw what it was, I saw what it could be, a place of safety, love, sanctuary, and most of all a home.
I saw the flowers, children playing, mothers visiting, and love abounding. I saw a home and this is its story.

This is what I looked like when Cora first saw me, unused and unloved since 1989. From now on you will be able to watch my transformation as I come to life to provide new lives to those in need.

(For details about the first two years of renovation work, click here).

Spring 2008: Ah, the wild cherry trees are blooming with their soft pink petals, haven’t seen them for many years and there are many wildflowers coming up since the crews have been able to clean up much of the overgrowth in various areas around me. The sycamore and weeping willow trees alongside the creek are coming back to life. They almost died because of all the vines choking them and the sycamore was zapped by lightning awhile back so the top half was gone. I am so glad to see them greening up again. Japanese iris, forget-me-nots, and cardinal flowers that were planted in the creek area are beginning to bloom. Oh, how I love to see the flowers come since that brings the butterflies, bees, and birds to my yard. But, we are having a very hot time of it so there hasn’t been a lot of action on cleaning up around the front runoff area or the creek. I know my weekly workers will be back but just when, I don’t know.

Here I thought it might have ended, but boy was I wrong!

It’s November and here they come, the same and, oh, some new noisy people with little ones in tow from Faith Promise Church’s ‘Operation In As Much’, must be over 30 of them running around. It is so nice to hear the laughter and talking going on, life has returned, if only for a little while. And, what is this? A bobcat hightailing it around the grounds like he owned it, hauling trees and brush to the burn pile and dumping trash into the dumpster from cleaning out the rooms. Goodness, the dust and noise is sometimes deafening, sure won’t get any rest on this day. But, that’s ok I would rather see and hear the action than be alone. A wonderful home cooked meal was provided by a small group from the church who weren’t able to participate in the labor work. It was so appreciated and smelled so good.

They are still working on the inside of my back ‘ L’ building. It seems to take a very long time to remove piping from the attic and remove block walls. But, I know it will all be worth it and it has to be done so my moms and babies will be safe.

Again this year, the families divided up and each took a room to work on. It is not many times you see adults, teenagers, and little ones working side by side, each doing what he is able and giving of themselves for the need of others. There is such a variety of work to be done on me so there is something for all ages and sizes. All of the work will make me a better home!

The saddest thing that happened is that my front porch roofs had to be removed because the support beams were rotting so badly the workers were afraid of the liability to those coming around, invited and not! They will be rebuilt and the old triangle vents put into place, plus part of the culvert in front of the property had to be extended with piping because the area driven over was collapsing, so the planting area was narrowed a bit. Plants that like wet feet will be put in the remaining culvert area to the creek edge and the walls will be lined with crab orchard stone. Can’t wait!

After a day of dirty and heavy work the grounds finally became quiet again around 4:00 p.m. and I could take a deep breath (if I could) and settle back and wait to see what would happen next. Well, next happened in early 2009 when Cora received the blessing of a helper who enjoyed working in gardens as much as she, doing the heavy stuff before planting. So for two days each week Cora and Sharon are fanatical about how much they accomplish. In 10-foot sections they have almost completely stripped the area on the motel side of the creek. It is cut back, weeded, and rounduped so by the end of the summer they will be able to lay newspaper and topsoil for the fall and winter to kill any remaining seeds. The bank in front of the housemother’s residence was planted with vinca after a particularly wet spring and is doing great and Cora has set aside a planting area at her home and is moving perennials into that area for moving to my yard in the spring.

Then on June 13th I was again inundated with the Boy Scouts of Troop 328 here to cleanup the overgrowth behind the back ‘L’ Building. They worked hard cutting back and hauling overgrowth to the burn pile. It always gives me a lot of satisfaction watching young men working on a service project like this and it reminds me of the first time they came to clear my buildings of all overgrowth in the front. It was like old friends coming back and they always make a difference in my appearance, and only for the good!

Now I am waiting for my next period of excitement. I am told it could be in August, but if not, for certain it will be on November 6th when the Oak Ridge Small Groups from Faith Promise Church come again to continue working on my inside cleanup. Can’t wait…..so for now I will enjoy my peace and quiet until once again the sounds of laughter and talking will abound on my land.