Across the Street

We're friendly with our neighbors; not really close, but we chat on the sidewalk from time to time and catch up on life. I have a confession to make: While I am fairly extroverted with friends and family, I am actually quite shy when it comes to interacting with neighbors. I don't know why. It is something about myself that I don't understand, and I'm not really proud of it. Maybe it is because I grew up out in the country where our closest neighbor was about half a mile away and didn't interact much. Thankfully, Mark is the opposite of me in this case and can chat with neighbors quite easily.

Mark and I were talking recently and had an interesting epiphany. Even though we know some of the neighbors across the street better than any of our other neighbors, and visit pretty regularly with them, it has always been on their side of the street. Only once have they come over to visit when we were in our front yard. Not that we mind, but it struck us as kind of odd. Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but it was interesting to think about. It reminds me of a message on a banner that hung in a church somewhere in my youth: "Across the street, Across the sea" and reminds me of the need to share God's love with everyone we encounter. This could be why I feel so convicted for being so sheepish in reaching out to my neighbors. Not that our life mirrors any of the struggles that missionaries face worldwide, but sometimes the distance across the street can be awkward and I need to pray for the courage to take those steps across the street and connect. Maybe it is good that they don't come to us: it makes me leave my comfort zone from time to time.