I had the opportunity to go out of town on vacation this past weekend with my family. We had a good friend from church house sit for us while we were away. It was interesting trying to explain to him about what to expect while we were away. Sure, we showed him the usual things about how to take care of our dog and also some of the quirks of the house. However, we also had to explain to him about our ministry in Homewood. He needed to expect the unexpected. Our neighborhood is a wonderful place, but it is also filled with its share of challenges. We did our best to prepare him for the week ahead.
Our friend did a great job of house sitting for us. When we returned home, he shared about some of the highlights and lowlights. Right before we left for vacation, I had placed an important letter in our mailbox that needed to be mailed out the next day. After we left one of the kids in our neighborhood had snuck onto our porch, taken the letter out of our mailbox and ripped it up. Our friend heard a commotion on our porch, and he ran outside to try to see what was going on but by that time our little mailman was gone. The Homewood experience with our house sitting friend had started out with a negative event. It's really not a big deal. At different times over the past five years that we've lived in Homewood, we've had drug addicts steal our front porch furniture while we were on vacation so that they could get money from the scrap metal to get high. We now have plastic front porch furniture. There have been other little things over the years, but we've just adapted and moved on. I'll learn not to leave important mail in my mailbox next time I leave on vacation.
After the rocky start, our friend shared that, as expected, a bunch of kids and neighbors stopped by to visit him. This is the best part about living in our neighborhood. On hot summer days, little kids stop by to ask for a freezie pop to cool them off. Teenagers stop by to jump on our trampoline or to talk about the latest drama that is going on in their lives. Adult friends and neighbors stop by to chat. We all look out for one another. We are caught up in one another's stories. Our friend who stayed at the house last week got to experience these things. A little girl who must have been four or five years old rang our doorbell, and in her cutest voice she asked, "Can I have four freezie pops? One for my grandma, one for my mom, one for my sister... and, um, oh yeah... one for me!" We had told our friend about our strict one freezie pop per person per day rule at the McCabe house (hey, you gotta have boundaries, right?), but the little girl was so cute that he just had to give her four freezie pops to go.
Our friend got a taste of the ups and downs of our urban neighborhood. He took walks and got to know people. He got caught up in people's stories, and they got caught up in his. Julie and I went for a walk in the neighborhood yesterday just so we could reorient ourselves after the week of vacation. Children played in the streets and found joy in lighting fireworks for the 4th of July. Our neighbors grilled out and had parties, just like many other people in America on Independence Day. We were also reminded of the pain in our community, though, as a thirty year old man was murdered right down the street from us at 3pm in afternoon on a beautiful Pittsburgh day. Our hearts break for the violence in our part of Homewood.
Our urban neighborhood has many signs of hope and many signs of need. My neighbors do amazing things to love each other well in our little piece of the world. I also have neighbors who steal and kill, causing harm to one another. Sometimes it's all too much to take. Joy and pain. Beauty and affliction. We live in the now, but not yet. The Kingdom of God is here, but we still live in a present evil age. What are we to do with all of this? I certainly don't have it all figured out, but I have hope that God does. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)
This life will have struggles. Those struggles should be handed over to Jesus. In this life we will experience powerful forms of joy, purpose, and meaning as we interact with one another. We must also view those experiences through the lens of Jesus' love for us. God is with us through all of it. I am thankful for that this week as I reengage in the realities of urban ministry. God's got this.
Our friend did a great job of house sitting for us. When we returned home, he shared about some of the highlights and lowlights. Right before we left for vacation, I had placed an important letter in our mailbox that needed to be mailed out the next day. After we left one of the kids in our neighborhood had snuck onto our porch, taken the letter out of our mailbox and ripped it up. Our friend heard a commotion on our porch, and he ran outside to try to see what was going on but by that time our little mailman was gone. The Homewood experience with our house sitting friend had started out with a negative event. It's really not a big deal. At different times over the past five years that we've lived in Homewood, we've had drug addicts steal our front porch furniture while we were on vacation so that they could get money from the scrap metal to get high. We now have plastic front porch furniture. There have been other little things over the years, but we've just adapted and moved on. I'll learn not to leave important mail in my mailbox next time I leave on vacation.
After the rocky start, our friend shared that, as expected, a bunch of kids and neighbors stopped by to visit him. This is the best part about living in our neighborhood. On hot summer days, little kids stop by to ask for a freezie pop to cool them off. Teenagers stop by to jump on our trampoline or to talk about the latest drama that is going on in their lives. Adult friends and neighbors stop by to chat. We all look out for one another. We are caught up in one another's stories. Our friend who stayed at the house last week got to experience these things. A little girl who must have been four or five years old rang our doorbell, and in her cutest voice she asked, "Can I have four freezie pops? One for my grandma, one for my mom, one for my sister... and, um, oh yeah... one for me!" We had told our friend about our strict one freezie pop per person per day rule at the McCabe house (hey, you gotta have boundaries, right?), but the little girl was so cute that he just had to give her four freezie pops to go.
Our friend got a taste of the ups and downs of our urban neighborhood. He took walks and got to know people. He got caught up in people's stories, and they got caught up in his. Julie and I went for a walk in the neighborhood yesterday just so we could reorient ourselves after the week of vacation. Children played in the streets and found joy in lighting fireworks for the 4th of July. Our neighbors grilled out and had parties, just like many other people in America on Independence Day. We were also reminded of the pain in our community, though, as a thirty year old man was murdered right down the street from us at 3pm in afternoon on a beautiful Pittsburgh day. Our hearts break for the violence in our part of Homewood.
Our urban neighborhood has many signs of hope and many signs of need. My neighbors do amazing things to love each other well in our little piece of the world. I also have neighbors who steal and kill, causing harm to one another. Sometimes it's all too much to take. Joy and pain. Beauty and affliction. We live in the now, but not yet. The Kingdom of God is here, but we still live in a present evil age. What are we to do with all of this? I certainly don't have it all figured out, but I have hope that God does. Jesus said, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30 ESV)
This life will have struggles. Those struggles should be handed over to Jesus. In this life we will experience powerful forms of joy, purpose, and meaning as we interact with one another. We must also view those experiences through the lens of Jesus' love for us. God is with us through all of it. I am thankful for that this week as I reengage in the realities of urban ministry. God's got this.
No comments:
Post a Comment