The Beauty of Community

David: Chris and I love to meet for lunch on her bike trail.  We look at where she will start riding, then pick a spot 15-20 miles along the route where we’ll meet. We’re never sure exactly where we’ll meet. That’s part of the fun of it.

On Wednesday, we choose Winchester, Texas. A “typical” small Texas town with one place to get lunch (a Hunts Brothers Pizza), scattered houses, a church in the square that meets for worship every other Sunday, etc. And a Memorial Hall with a tree shaded table and benches in front. Perfect for lunch.

And although perfect is often good enough, it got even better!  Margaret and Bob Atkins came and introduced themselves and their story “took over” our afternoon. Theirs is a story of living in a town of 68 official residents, and asking themselves what they can do to build community.

For Margaret, it has included the Block Quilt Project. As we drove through the countryside that surrounds the town, we saw the block quilts below.  (And more - we didn’t get a chance to record them all). They add a spot of beauty. And, they add a sense of connection between these small farms /
ranches scattered throughout the countryside. We knew that for each block quilt we saw on a fence, there was a family who loved their own individual home, and who loved the small town that they all call home. We knew there were people behind each block quilted fence who believed in the common good, and were willing to do their part to help build it.