Thanksgiving in a “Home Town”
When planning where our journey would take us for Thanksgiving, we were looking for something familiar, a small town where we might feel at home. That plan turned out to be Laurel, MS.
For those who love HGTV like I do, you may be familiar with Laurel. It is a small town being revitalized by the TV show, Home Town. In that show, Ben and Erin Napier have been remodeling homes since 2016.
What we didn’t realize when we planned the trip, was how different this hometown would appear compared to our expectations.
We were ahead of the game and had already scheduled a day to volunteer at The Glory House the day after we arrived.
When I found this charity, their mission immediately spoke to my heart. Love God. Love People. It was a match made in heaven, literally! We were scheduled to serve at the Bread of Life Center. Upon arrival, we were happy to have the chance to meet the founders of the program.
Hope and Grant Staples were missionaries prior to moving back to their home town of Laurel. After much prayer about how they could serve their community’s needs, their prayers were answered with the purchase of a home previously known as the Laurel Inn – a place that would become The Glory House. That home, needing renovation, was the pilot renovation that started the series Home Town.
The Glory House has since grown to provide food for those in need; back-to-school bashes, a Christmas Store, Restore Jones County, and many other services.
As we spoke to Hope, we learned the history of the area. Laurel, a former timber milling town and later part of the oil boom, saw their downtown decline in the 1950’s. Much like many small towns across the country, Urban Renewal moved in, and big box office stores began pulling traffic away from downtown. Then the tornados of 2019. Over 135 structures were damaged by the EF-3, 140 mph storm.
What followed has been difficult for many residents – particularly those without funds to repair their homes. As we tried to find our way around town, we saw so many streets struggling economically. We wondered if we would find where the beautiful Home Town renovations were. For us it was shocking. It appeared this hometown wasn’t what it seemed to be.
We asked why it appears much of the town continues to live in poverty. The answer? Generational poverty. Similar to alcoholism, abuse, or dysfunctional families, if it is all you know, it, or some form of it will effect how you live. Some make it out and change history, but many others do not.
As the day of volunteering began, the lovely group of volunteers started the day with devotionals and prayer. It was so refreshing and encouraging to see. The tasks, although rewarding, can be trying for the dedicated volunteers.
We were so blessed to get the chance to hand out bags of food to people in need throughout the day. Volunteers are encouraged to hand them their bag of food, hold the door for them, and even carry their bag to their car. It was important that they knew we saw and valued them.
Walking these people to their car gave us the opportunity to learn more about them and pray with them. I had such an opportunity with one woman. As we walked to her car, I visited with her and what I thought was her granddaughter. It turns out it was indeed her granddaughter, but she referred to the woman as mama. This little girl was not aware her mother had died. As we visited, this grandma cried and cried while her little granddaughter hugged her tightly. She said her holidays were not joyous due to the death of her daughter.
As a “fixer”, I wanted to help in any way possible to heal her pain. But only God could mend her breaking heart. So, we prayed. I wanted so badly to tell her I would see her the next week and wanted to hear all about how God gave her joy on Thanksgiving, but unfortunately, I would not be in town the next time she came in.
I struggled with that fact. Jim and I even had a conversation about whether this is where God wants us to be. Ultimately, we felt He wants us to see and learn so much more about the people in this country. However, we continue to pray if there is a set destination He wants us to be, we will know without a shadow of a doubt. Until then, that woman stays on my heart, trusting God to be with her and heal her pain.
As the morning went on, Grant arrived and spoke with us for quite some time. We learned more of their story and the background of The Glory House. How they haven’t taken an income until recently, but God has always provided for them. In fact, the location we served in was donated to them.
Even though we were there to serve their organization and community, Grant wanted to know about our journey. He was such an encouragement to us – to keep going knowing God will provide. Taking time out of his busy day to show us salt and light.
Later in the day, after serving, we learned the husband of one of the ladies we volunteered with wanted to reach out to us and learn about our journey. They even offered to take us out to dinner! Despite our objection, we were told, you are in the south now, we have conversation over fried chicken. We are learning to not be proud and accept God’s favor through others.
We spent the evening visiting with Jeanette and Mark, talking about our journey, and learning more about theirs. They are a couple much like us, wanting to give back to people in need.
After dinner they offered to walk us around town and show us the “Home Town” area. The downtown, although seen in the dark, has indeed been revitalized with many quaint shops and strung lights from building to building. We walked through the historical district that has been much of the focus of the Home Town renovations. From what we understand, the downtown was completely abandoned until the emergence of the show. It was apparent the hard work that has gone into revitalization. Many in the town are extremely grateful and excited about their little town.
Jeannette and Mark, despite being Cincinnati Bengals fans, were consummate hosts and have become dear friends to us. In fact, stay tuned, they will resurface in our next story!
A couple of days later we decided to again wander around downtown Laurel and the historical homes during the daylight.
We learned from Jeannette and Mark that Ben and Erin are often seen around the town and sure enough, we crossed paths.
As we walked through the tree-lined neighborhoods, we heard voices outside a home. As we walked by, we noticed it was Erin and her children. It was neat to see someone in person that we have watched and admired for so long. Because we didn’t make eye contact, we maintained our composure and kept walking without disturbing her.
Of course, during our visit to the downtown district, we browsed the iconic Laurel Mercantile and the Scotsman Co. As a sweet gesture, a thank you card is given with every purchase.
Interestingly, what stood out to us from our visit to these locations was a chance encounter with an employee of Scotsman Co. Mike greeted us when we walked in the store with “it’s nice to see you again”. We were a little confused but gracefully returned a smile and hello. Just before leaving, we saw him again and he said “where are you from again?” At that point we had to confess we had not met before. After much time had passed, we finished one of our most inspiring conversations with an entire stranger. I love God moments!
It turns out Mike is a pastor. We talked about our journey and his. Once again, we were reassured of the calling God has placed on our hearts, His goodness, grace, and provision. He mentioned he had written a book, Rusty Spigot Dirty Water. His story can attest to the goodness, grace, and provision of God.
Mike came to Laurel a few years ago and had a chance encounter with one of Ben and Erin’s partners which led to employment with Scotsman Co. We talked about the revitalization in Laurel and its contrast to the still ever-present poverty.
It’s a constant discussion, Mike said. Revitalizing a town often involves people visiting the area and finding they are drawn back for various reasons, one of which can be a lower cost of living. Coming from a high to lower cost of living can buy so much more. The key is improving a declining town without forgetting the need that still exists for struggling, life-long residents.
Please know I do not want to diminish the hard work being done in Laurel. It is truly commendable. Home Town has done great work. Ben and Erin saw a need and acted on it. Grant and Hope saw a need and acted on it. From different directions, they are working together to meet the needs of their community.
However, seeing Laurel in its true form, was a lesson for Jim and me. It reminded us of faith. There is more to the story of Home Town than what we saw on TV. Similarly, faith is something we cannot see. So often we try to understand what faith is. We cannot see it or touch it, so how can we believe it?
I struggled with that myself. I was brought up in the church but after trying life on my own for several years, I came back to my foundation of faith. That didn’t mean I understood it though. I felt like I had to understand the stories in the bible. I certainly needed knowledge before I could call myself a true follower of Christ.
But that is not the case at all. Faith is believing in God and letting Him take it from there. Think about it, if it weren’t for Ben and Erin’s belief in their hometown, Jim and I wouldn’t have even visited Laurel. If it weren’t for the Wright Brothers’ belief, we wouldn’t fly in planes. If it weren’t for Alexander Graham Bell’s vision, we wouldn’t have phones which have evolved to be tucked ever so snuggly in our pockets. Most of us cannot understand how either works, but we have faith they will.
Then why is it so hard for us to not believe in faith? That is a question we can only answer for ourselves, but it is good question to ask, like I did, and be patient with the understanding part. Faith is a journey. If we allow it, it will grow to a point that we find we see it everywhere!
Looking back on our visit to Laurel, our hope was to have the hometown feel we desired for the Thanksgiving holiday. But it wasn’t until we learned about what we hadn’t seen that we saw the true meaning of a hometown.
Faith means being sure of the things we hope for
and knowing that something is real
even if we do not see it
Hebrews 11:1
