A New Sound Yields Familiarity

The sounds of trains, buses, cars, trucks, motorcycles, and emergency vehicles are constant around where I live. I don't even really notice the sounds anymore. We just happen to live close to a railway, busway, a busy street (Braddock), a biker bar, and a fire department. Last night a noise that is not a normal part of our urban soundtrack interrupted my studying... a helicopter circled over our neighborhood for almost an hour. As I stared out my window in interest, I realized that this was the first time that I can remember a helicopter hovering over me for an extended period of time. I don't think it would have happened any other place I have ever lived. I had something new to add to the familiarity of living in Homewood.

We really are starting to become familiar with our neighborhood. I am so thankful for that. We are starting to have friendly visitors on a regular basis... mostly kids but also many adults from Homewood. One of the biggest adjustments for us has been learning how to respond to frequent visitors. In the suburbs, where we lived prior to our move to Homewood, we had a pretty predictable level of autonomy. We desired to be in community, but we could arrange for it as we wanted by going to church, having small group, inviting friends over for dinner, or hanging out at places like the YMCA. We still desire to be in community here in the city, but often the community comes to us! People depend on each other in our neighborhood. Relationships are more spontaneous. We often cannot control them. Although boundaries are important, and we implement them on a regular basis, we are finding so much joy in becoming a part of the fabric of this community. Every day we are learning to expect the unexpected. Who will God bring across our paths today?