July 8 – “The Ever Watchful Eye”

Major crisis around the Vaughan house this morning.  We knew we were getting a little low on groceries, and a trip to WalMart or Randalls was most assuredly in our near future, but when we realized that we were out of both fruit and sugar, that was the last straw.  Why does sugar hold such a prominent place in our realm of priorities?  Sweet tea, my friends.  Sweet tea.

I went to a meeting of the City of Galveston Planning and Zoning department yesterday.  I know.  Sounds like a real snoozer, doesn’t it?  At least it was in the City Hall building.  That meant I got to stop by and see the fire department station one crew as well as those with “administrative duties” upstairs.  The meeting was about a new use special permit that was applied for by the group that received the old Zion Lutheran Church building in our neighborhood.  Several of the residents were becoming concerned that the permit would allow it to become “a halfway house or some other such horrible creature.”  That was not how I understood the notice we received, so I went to the meeting to verify.  Sure enough, the group needed a special use permit to designate the site as a retreat center for groups coming to Galveston (a lot like Seaside’s.  But we are first a church and second in Jamaica Beach, so we don’t have to worry about such permit issues).  But in their case, since the building was no longer a church, everything that happens there is now under the purview – the “Ever Watchful Eye” of the City.  I’ll be able to report back to my neighbors now so they can once again get a good night’s sleep.

The most interesting item on the agenda came after that one, though.  A business owner wanted the city to close off one of the streets next to his property and let him have it as a parking lot.  That didn’t set too well with the neighborhood residents.  They didn’t want to have to go all the way to the next intersection a whole block away to the traffic light before turning into their neighborhood.  Emphasis their’s, not mine.  I have to say, though, I could relate.  I would want the easiest possible means of access if I was trying to get off of the seawall to my house.  Especially during tourist season.  There were many public comments, but as it turned out, the board had already pretty much made up their minds to reject the request.  They did recommend an alternative.  They are going to ask City Council to in turn ask the Planning and Zoning Commission (Wait a minute.  That’s them.  They have to ask council to ask themselves.  Gotta love city politics) to come up with a plan for allowing angle parking in that area.  Sounded like a good compromise all the way around.  I’ll be watching for that one.

Job 25:2 says, “Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven.”

Father, thank you for being a God of order amidst all of our best attempts that inevitably result in chaos.  Amen.