A Few Words is All it Takes

It recently came to my attention that I've lived on the north side of Atlanta for nearly 10 years. Oddly enough, it still doesn't feel much like home, but every day, Michael and I drive past the Spruill Art Gallery. It is situated on the corner of Ashford Dunwoody Rd and Meadow, very near our apartment. As long as I can remember, they've rotated out colorful mural installations on the side of a shed beside the gallery, the sight of which brightens the intersection and has always filled me with joy.

Earlier this year, the murals were replaced with the words "Everything will be ok" in black paint on a dingy white background. Initially, I disliked the sign. I felt that whoever painted it had taken all of the color and joy of the murals away and dumped this black and white "blah" in their place. But then… it hasn't exactly been an easy year. Bad days have been followed by worse months, and many are in far dire situations than we. There was a particularly bad day that we passed the sign and I read it- perhaps really understood the words for the first time and had to hold back a few tears. The words do not promise that everything is going to be super-duper awesome tomorrow. They don't sugar coat the situation, or pretend that things aren't bad. They simply state that it will be ok. We will manage. We will get by as we always have and there will be a brighter day than today. Not perfect, but ok. There is a lot of comfort in those words and I deeply appreciate the individual that painted them there. In the months since, they have lifted my spirits on many occasions, and I can only imagine how many others they have touched by their sincerity and truth.