The Ballestero Blog

They Built A Monument To Their Problem.

The official website of Enterprise, AL ( http://www.enterpriseal.gov/#!history-of-enterprise/c6gw ) explains why there is a monument erected to what once was a problem.

Enterprise “was threatened in 1915 as the Mexican boll Weevil found its way into Alabama from Texas and wreaked havoc on the cotton crop. In Coffee County, almost 60 percent of the cotton production was destroyed. Farmers faced bankruptcy and the area economy was at stake. Farmers turned to peanuts and other crops to overcome the damage brought by the boll weevil.

“By 1917, Coffee County produced and harvested more peanuts than any other county in the nation. (In 1993, Coffee County ranked 4th in the state of Alabama with 128,000 acres planted in peanuts.) In gratitude for the lessons taught, residents erected the world’s only monument to an agricultural pest, the Boll Weevil.

“The monument, dedicated on December 11, 1919, stands in the center of the downtown district at the intersection of Main Street and College Street. The Boll Weevil Monument is a symbol of man’s willingness and ability to adjust to adversity. Citizens continue to remind visitors and newcomers to the city the lesson of the boll weevil. The base of the monument is inscribed:

“In profound appreciation of the boll weevil and what it has done as the herald of prosperity this monument was erected by the citizens of Enterprise, Coffee County, Alabama.”

Today the City of Enterprise is a beautiful and still growing town of over 27,750. Stores seem to be everywhere. The restaurants are wonderful. The people are friendly. Business is booming where once it was failing.

(And most important of all, they have a wonderful Apostolic Church at the corner of Hwy 84E and Coffee County Road, called New Life Pentecostal Church. My friend, Brother John Padgett, is the pastor.)

The first time I drove through the downtown area I was amazed to see the Boll Weevil Monument. The woman in the sculpture is holding the problem pest above her head with both of her arms fully extended. It is as if she is showing it off to the world. She appears to be saying, this once was the problem here, but it’s not anymore.

The South was horribly devastated by the little boll weevil. Cotton crops failed, farmers went bankrupt, and their farms were foreclosed on when the economy flat lined.

The people in Enterprise turned their lives and their city around when they changed from growing cotton to growing peanuts. Peanuts became a great blessing to the whole area and to America as well. They had to be pushed into their miracle recovery. They later erected a monument to the thing that made them change.

• The monument did not showcase the boll weevil as the reason why the people of Enterprise couldn’t succeed.
• It wasn’t erected because they were displaying their excuse for failure for the world to see.
• It was simple saying, “Here is what once was our problem. Here is the pest that pushed us to think different, to live different and as a result, to be successful.”

Building A Monument To A Problem Is Nothing New.

It Could Be Said The Lord Was The First One To Display A Such Monument.

He Put A Rainbow In The Sky

Gen 9:13 I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth.

Gen 9:14 And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:

Gen 9:15 And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.

Gen 9:16 And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth.

Gen 9:17 And God said unto Noah, This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth.

After the flood God made a monument to remind them of their storm. A reminder that from now on, things would be different.

God Instructed Israel To Build A Monument To Their Problem.

They needed to cross over Jordan, into the Promised Land to inherit their promise, but there was a river in the way. No bridge, or any ferryboats were there to help them. This was a problem in need of a miracle. God always makes a way where there seems to be no way,

Joshua 4:2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,

Joshua 4:3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.

• Make your monument out of the middle of your problem.
• Take the makings of the monument home with you.
• Place it near where you sleep tonight.

Joshua 4:4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:

Joshua 4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:

Your Children Are Going To Ask You Later About Your Monument.

Joshua 4:6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?

Joshua 4:7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.

These stones declared, “There once was an obstacle in front of us that we couldn’t get over. But God made a way. We never want to forget.”

What About Your Problem?

• Are you still living with it, never changing?
• Are you still suffering because of it?

There Is A Lesson To Be Learned From The Humble People Of Enterprise.

• That they had a problem, they well knew.
• To quit and give up was not acceptable.
• To move away was not the solution.
• To change was their only answer.
• They changed and then they flourished

• What will you do with your problem?
• Will you let it make you fail?
• Will you let it make you change?

There Is A Lesson To Be Learned From Israel’s Twelve Stones

As long as there is life, there will be problems.

Before Israel went through the Jordan River into their New Life, God charged them ahead of time to gather twelve stones out of the riverbed to build their monument. He knew they would need their own monument as a reminder.

You Will Always Have To Face:

• Hurts
• Disappointments
• Pain
• Grief

But while in the middle of your passing through the problem, don’t forget to gather the materials you’ll need to build your monument when it’s all over.