190.0 The Before I Die Wall! 3 Ways This Wall Has Changed Hearts & Communities.

2024-09-15

SHOW NOTES Candy Chang on creating Before I Die in New Orleans: I lived a block away from an abandoned house that had been collecting dust and graffiti for years. I wondered if I could make it a nicer space for my neighborhood and make a tribute to Joan by creating a space to restore perspective. I made a homemade stencil that said, “Before I die, I want to _____.” With help from old and new friends, I painted the side of this crumbling house with chalkboard paint and stenciled it with this prompt so that anyo...

SHOW NOTES

Candy Chang on creating Before I Die in New Orleans:

I lived a block away from an abandoned house that had been collecting dust and graffiti for years. I wondered if I could make it a nicer space for my neighborhood and make a tribute to Joan by creating a space to restore perspective. I made a homemade stencil that said, “Before I die, I want to _____.”

With help from old and new friends, I painted the side of this crumbling house with chalkboard paint and stenciled it with this prompt so that anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on death and life, and share their personal aspirations in public.

It was all an experiment, and I didn’t know what to expect. Because it was cheap to make, I thought it would be no big deal if it didn’t work out.

By the next day, the wall was entirely filled and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, abandon all insecurities, get my wife back, eat all the carbs I want, hold her one more time, be completely myself. The gamut of humanity was on full display, and the wall became an honest mess of the longing, fear, insecurity, gratitude, humor, pain, and grace you find in every community. I saw how much I was not alone as I tried to make sense of my life, and the wall became in icebreaker for meaningful conversations on death and emotional health. Seeing some private corner of your psyche reflected in someone else’s handwriting on a public wall can be incredibly reassuring on an individual level, and it’s a step towards seeing ourselves in one another.

WORD of the Week This certain hope of being saved is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls, connecting us with God himself behind the sacred curtains of heaven. Hebrews 6:19

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