There are a lot of lonely people around us.
Even though we may not be able to tell or see from their outward demeanour, it's there and VERY REAL.
Personally, I think we as a society lack the HUMAN INTERACTION that we were CREATED TO EXPERIENCE.
We are MADE FOR COMMUNITY, not for anonymous living or superficial cyber acceptance! There are so MANY PEOPLE WHO WONDER IF ANYONE CARES WHETHER THEY LIVE OR DIE. We have a BEAUTIFUL OPPORTUNITY while we walk this earth to SHOW AFFECTION TO OTHERS through our tiniest of actions.
Sometimes I wonder why we were placed here in this farmhouse by the side of the road. Yes, we loved it and knew it was just what we were looking for.....we took out a mortgage, paid the closing costs, moved in and took a picture by the "SOLD" sign, but BEYOND that and more importantly then that WHY ARE WE HERE, on this street, in this town, in this state? 
(OUR FIRST HOME & CRAZY SHORT HAIR)I don't make New Year's resolutions very often, (if ever). It feels like too much pressure on myself and being the fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kinda gal I am, I don't do well when I feel there are expectations put on me, (by myself or by others).
Anywho, this year I DID make a resolution and it is to get to know at least two neighbors within two houses of my own,
north, south, east or west.
We all would be surprised to realize how LITTLE WE KNOW THOSE RIGHT AROUND US. I'm not looking to have a new best friend and don't have expectations of a blossoming friendship, HOWEVER, I DO HAVE EXPECTATIONS TO SHOW THEM THAT SOMEONE CARES and that people are still friends in REAL life and not just one click away. And this is not in my own strength or vision, it's just something that has come to my mind so often as I pass by the same houses day after day after day after day!
(7 MONTHS PREGNANT WITH LUKE & PAINTING OUR BEDROOM)."Dear friend, you are doing good work for God when you take care of the traveling teachers who are passing through, even though they are strangers to you. "
3 Jonh 1:5
3 Jonh 1:5
IT'S NOT ABOUT GOOD WORKS......it's about getting OUTSIDE OUR FOUR WALLS TO EXPRESS THE LOVE OF GOD IN A TANGIBLE WAY TO THOSE AROUND US.
Now, I have NO IDEA how I'm going to *meet* these neighbors.....
*knock, knock*
"um, hi, i'm your neighbor and just wanted to say hi, i'm your neighbor."
smile and stare blankly at each other.
Ok, so hopefully it won't go like that......but I do have food and FOOD ALWAYS OPENS DOORS right, (unless they think I'm trying to poison them)! Oh well, it's not for me to figure it all out right now. It's the WILLINGNESS that matters at this moment.
How about you? Wanna join me and meet two of YOUR neighbors within two houses of your own? We could call it "two within two" or something cool like that, (I like to name things and events)! :)
Leave a comment and let me know if you want to join me and we'll keep each other accountable and share the neat stories that ARE BOUND TO SURFACE when we get outside our ourselves!!
"I nod to a passing stranger,
and the stranger nods back,
and two human beings go off,
feeling a little less anonymous."
~Robert Brault~
6 comments:
Janelle,
I think meeting your neighbors is always a terrific idea. We have had outdoor BBQs and invited neighbors. Another neighbor invited many of us to a Christmas open house. It's comforting to know the people who live closest to you. Go for it! You'll figure out just the thing that works for you. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
I like Tina's idea, about the BBQ. I think we could make that happen in our little radius! I'd love to meet the people around us, well, get to know them better I should say.
I love this idea. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I know most of my neighbors. When we decided to keep chickens as pets a couple years back, it was quite THE scandal in the neighborhood and everyone chose up sides. sigh We are looking to move this year out to a more rural area where chickens are not so dreaded and, seriously, feared. Once I have new neighbors, I will gladly join in your challenge.
I thought of this concept yesterday, actually, when I was reading your post about your friends who were eating out of dumpsters while no one knew. I wondered how many people are eating out of emotional dumpsters (perhaps myself included) while no one around them knows it -- or cares to see it.
I am loving your blog.
Janelle,
I liked your post and the idea of meeting your neighbors. When we first moved into our farmhouse I felt the Lord prompting me to go knock on the door of our nearest neighbors house and introduce myself. I knew they had kids that rode the bus with my kids but I chickened out for fear it would look like the scenario you described...so I never did it. To make a long story short. I met the woman who lived in the house at a bible study a month before she was to move colorado. It turns out I worked with her in highschool and she graduated a year before me from lmh. I had known her the whole time and now she was moving away. It really convicted me that when God asks me to go meet someone that it is probably because He has something good for me not to make me look like a fool...although that could happen too...but it wouldn't be that big of a deal. Just wanted to encourage you with that! Go for it!
love,
Heather
Love the idea! I have been struggling with how to (re)connect with a neighbor. I see her everyday from my kitchen window smoking on her front step. I do pray for her. When she delivered a baby in October I took them a meal. They appreciated and returned the dishes, but it has been very hard (cold weather especially!) to reconnect and I am just not sure how to go about it again. Any ideas?
"two within two" I like that. Count me in. We have soooo many people in our neck of the woods and very few that i know.
I pray for the people in the little white house down the road.
I wonder who and what goes on in the house that just got sold last year?
And what about the yellow/brown shudder house that seems to hold an old couple?
No i will not sit in my pretty little home and think that i am too busy to make new acquaintances.
I will let you know how things work out here in my sphere.
- LOVE TO YOU
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