This past week my neighbor Laurie and I co-hosted our 7th Annual Neighborhood Cookout. We were thrilled with the turnout! Thirty-three neighbors showed up, including some first time attenders, YAY!!! It might surprise you how this annual neighborhood gathering started.
Years ago, one of my neighbors shot our dog Henry. He was a lovable 35lbs dachshund-mix dog. One day Henry came into the house bleeding and collapsed. We found puddles of blood on our sidewalk and we knew something was seriously wrong so we raced him to the vet. We learned he’d been shot with a pellet gun. The vet didn’t offer us much hope for his survival, but through a series of miraculous circumstances, Henry lived.
Thankfully, over time Henry made a full recovery, but the growing bitterness in my heart took longer to heal. Understandably, I was angry and wanted answers. Who would do such a thing to a friendly dog like Henry? I knocked on doors after door asking if anyone had seen what happened. While canvassing my neighborhood I realized, I hardly knew my neighbors. Furthermore, the more doors I knocked on the more bitter I became. I didn’t like this side of me very much.
I was reminded of a warning in God’s word to not let bitterness take root in our heart. Instead, we are to pray for our enemies. Believe me, it was the last thing I wanted to do but out of obedience as a follower of Christ I set out to pray. It wasn’t easy, every morning I prayer walked my neighborhood. The first 3 weeks of praying for my neighbors was like eating sawdust, to speak words of blessings upon each home was dry to the mouth and emotionless.
Then by the end of the third week something changed in me! I became incredibly curious about what went on behind the front doors of my neighbors’ homes. My prayers changed, I began feeling a burden and longing to know them. At the same time of my heart transformation, God was working in the heart of one of my neighbor Laurie in the same way!
I didn’t know Laurie, but God divinely orchestrated our meeting and soon we were prayer walking our neighborhood together. God gave us baby steps at first, inviting ladies in our neighborhood over for an afternoon coffee, when then advanced to a Bible study. I took a group of my neighborhood ladies to meet some of my Indian friends for an authentic Indian meal.
Before long, Laurie and I began inviting the entire neighborhood for gatherings. Laurie would host and I would collect the names and contact information and share with the neighbors. Soon after, when a need would arise in the neighborhood, neighbors would spring into action, providing meals, praying for and encouraging one another, even repair a car, and attending funeral services. When one of our neighbor’s home burned down, it was the neighborhood who rallied around them. These acts of kindness toward one another in our neighborhood have been countless.
At our recent gathering, one family who recently moved to the neighborhood told me, they decided to move here because “the vibe in this neighborhood felt different.” It brought tears to my eyes. Because I knew, the “Vibe” he noticed didn’t come from people, but came from a love God planted in our hearts for one another.
God wants us to experience community wherever we travel on our journey in life. He wants your neighborhood to have a “different vibe” too . So here’s my challenge, are you willing to step outside your front door and begin prayer walking your neighborhood? I promise you, God has a mission field living next door to you. Take the first step and see what God does next…
On the Joyful Journey,
Beverly