Your Neighborhood: Day 91; 100 Days to Brave

In our married life, Big Strong Man and I have lived in several communities.
The essence of community being the neighbors who lived there with us. 

There were Charli and Randi, the husband and wife duo who hosted huge parties at their lake house and invited everyone.
There was Micheal, our North Carolina neighbor who was our go-to get-it-done man. He spent the entire day one Memorial day, bar-b-quing for the entire block and he did it selflessly.
And here in Pennsylvania, where it snowed over the weekend and our neighbors, three young boys, shoveled our walkway. They didn't even ask.

And because we have taken the opportunity to get to know our neighbors, I have their special dates written into my calendar so I can text them with a "thinking of you", or check-in on them when I don't see them coming or going.

In the Message version of the Bible, John 1:14 reads:

The Word became flesh and blood, and 

moved into the neighborhood. 

We saw the glory with our own eyes, 

the one-of-a-kind glory, 

like Father, like Son, 

Generous inside and out, 

true from start to finish. 

(emph. mine)

link

And this sounds lovely, right? As if Jesus were right there, in the house next door. So our grass is greener for touching His, and our disposition, cheerier by osmosis. 

Annie goes on today, writing about her father and what a great man he is and how the community he lives in is better for having him. 

What a beautiful legacy he is leaving. 

Be Brave: 

Introduce yourself to a neighbor you don't already know. 

Make a new friend with someone who lives near you. 

*****

Many years ago I attend a MOPS meeting in Greensboro, NC. A woman with cute hair greeted me and we got to talking. She had three kiddos at the time (now four), I had two (now three). We each drove 20 minutes to get there. 

We enjoyed talking with one another and decided to do a play date, see if our children would enjoy spending time together. We exchanged address- and laughed! We were neighbors!

The woman with the cute hair is a dear friend of mine to this day. 

We talk marriage and marriage struggles. 

Kiddos excelling, and kiddos in need of a spanking. 

Health, mental health, and oils for health (don't get me started!).

Over the years, we did a weekly trade-off with our children so we each watched kiddos one day and had a three hour, do All.The.Things!, break on another day. 

We called on one another in times of crises and met each other's needs. 

When we moved six hours and four states north, she came with her family and stayed with us. 

When we returned to NC for a weekend, we stayed with them. 

Neighbors can be the greatest gift. They are those who are present in your life for this season, and you have this choice of how well you will know one another. Although there will be toxic people, (and shame on them), I pray you have the courage to be brave enough to love those near you and love them well.