Abandoned Buildings

About 10 years ago, I was traveling with my parents back to Tennessee from a visit to Florida to see my brother and his family. I loved and hated these trips…loved them because I got to see my family…hated them because riding in our egg shaped Toyota van was like riding in a mobile greenhouse. The giant windows had no tinting and the a/c blew 77 degree air with all the ferocity of a wheezing asthmatic. On one of these journeys, dad decided to wind through the back roads as opposed to driving monotonous I-26. Only 30 minutes or so off of the interstate we came upon a gas station, saloon, restaurant, and department store, each appearing to be suspended in 1955. Every building was abandoned, bearing its own thick coat of neglect. Passing by, we realized that we had stumbled through a modern ghost town. I openly wondered why the place was abandoned…in movies there always seemed to be some sort of disaster or supernatural cause that emptied towns. In seeing buildings forgotten by man and time, I could not avoid feeling slightly depressed. I don’t really know what it was…maybe just seeing emptiness and finality made me sad.

Roughly ten years later those feelings returned as I walked through Hisarya, Bulgaria. Though this town is home to roughly 15,000 people and numerous businesses; abandoned buildings stand on every corner, casting their hollow shadows. This place was like an inhabited ghost town. A three story hotel was started, but never finished, its glassless windows exposing its belly to the elements. A school boasting an elaborate arched entry and open lobby sat without any inhabitants. A large building intended to house shops, businesses, or apartments lay in shambles, though still displaying an advertisement for razor blades. Again, I could not pass these places without their sadness latching on to me. Around these buildings were open businesses and homes, bustling with movement and conversation like saplings growing in a rotten stump. Still, the feeling of melancholy and heaviness remained.

I think the reason that these feelings infected the forlorn structures is because each one represented something finished and unfinished. A dead dream. A lost cause. A missed opportunity. Gone. Lost. Past. Over.

Our society loves to preach hope…hope in politicians, athletes, books, celebrities, progress, and positive thinking. Each of those have a hollow ring to me. People always fail…hope is not truly found in people. My heart hurts for those who live unaware of the abounding love and grace of Jesus. Picturing my life without Christ is like one of those abandoned places…standing empty, forlorn, and wanting.

Maybe that’s why abandoned buildings make me sad…because there are so many all over the world...