Aug 7, 2009
One Foot Higher...
Okay, before you people start making "short" jokes, that's not what this is about! We just bought a house and are getting things ready to move in. While working around in the backyard the other day, I realized that the fence we're going to share with the house beside us is a foot shorter than the fence we currently have. We currently have a 6 foot fence but the house we just bought has a 5 foot fence in the backyard. I found myself thinking about getting a new fence (as if we have the money) or maybe adding one more foot to the fence. Basically, I just wanted it "one foot higher." That way, I thought, my neighbors don't have to see me and I don't have to see them. After all, can't we at least get a little privacy in our own backyard?
So here's what I'm thinking now. Why don't I want to know my neighbors??? That's jacked up. I grew up in America...a great country but one which supremely values individuals & not community. I grew up in Texas...the most individualistic state in America. And, I grew up in the country...where we liked our land and wanted others to stay off it. In short, I'm "wired" to not want to know my neighbors. I'm wired to see them as an inconvenience that must be tolerated because we live in a neighborhood.
I realized, even though there's still an internal battle, that I DO WANT to know my neighbors. As a Christ-follower I should want to know and love those that live around me, as Christ himself would do if he lived in my house. I want to throw the best parties on the street. I want the people that live on my street to know they are welcomed. Eventually & ultimately I want them to know the God I know. I want my dream to be God's dream, not the American dream. It's awesome that we live in an area where people from every corner of the world can be found!!! I want to know them, to listen to them, to dialogue with them. I want then to know the radically inclusive love of God.
I'm learning (though slowly) that my "privacy" isn't high on God's list of priorities. Nor is "the American dream." God has a global heart that beats passionately for all people. I want to be apart of a community (church) of committed Christ-followers that consistently invites anyone & everyone to join us! That's my passion. So...let the fence stay low. And maybe one day my heart will be transformed enough that my first thought won't be "I wish the fence was higher so my neighbors don't have to see me and I don't have to see them..."
Comments
Shirley Jeffreys on Sep 3, 2009 6:41pm
I am really trying to work on relations with my co-workers and neighbors that will change their lives eternally.
Jen Haugh on Sep 9, 2009 4:50pm
I say tear down the fence all-together LOL I'm sure your neighbors would LOVE that! :) a few people in our neighborhood started what they call "the curb" lately every night they've been heading out to the curb area after dinner with their kids and letting them all play as the adults talk, etc. it's really awesome to see and occasionally be a part of!