Neighbor

I started going to church around the age of 8 years old. My parents usually took us for special events and holidays, but we didn’t attend regularly at that time. Our neighbor who lived down the road from us attended often and drove a church bus every Sunday. He picked up many children and families who wished to come to church and needed a way to get there. One day our neighbor stopped by and asked if we wanted to go. My mom was at work but dad said it was okay to go. It began from that. Every Sunday my three older siblings and I would walk down the road and catch the church van to go to church.  A year later my mom started coming. Five years later my dad started coming. A couple of years later my mom needed a job and the church provided.

This is where I first learned to love my neighbor. At a young age I wanted to show others God’s love because someone showed that to me and my family. I started volunteering in several ministries, trying to find where I belong and how I should use my talents within the church. Bus ministry, teaching children, puppet ministry, church camp counseling. My heart was in the right place but I had a misconceived idea that ministry involved being surrounded by the four walls of a church.

When I grew older I remember praying “God, break my heart for what breaks yours. Show me the right path and the right ministry to serve you in.” God answered that prayer. Our hearts broke for children in foster care and their families. It suddenly became clear where God was calling our family and what ministry I would be serving in. I knew that I needed to love my neighbor, and that ‘neighbor’ included my children. It was my job to show them God. Our ministry happened during everyday life, and not just Sunday mornings. Bedtime stories, eating dinner together, and cuddling on the couch is when we see God work in people's lives. We pray with our children as they cry for their parents, and pray with their parents as they cry for their children. All we do is show up and love people and God does the rest.

Do you want to see a difference made in your community? Are you praying for God to place you somewhere? Do you want to be used but not sure where to start? Start with you neighbor. It doesn’t have to be a huge gesture. Talk with them, bring them dinner or make them cookies, read to their children, or offer to babysit. Be there for each other. Twenty-two years ago a neighbor took time to talk to my family. I’m sure he was busy with his own family and life, but he took the time anyway. That one act of kindness led my whole family to God.

Our heart for God shouldn’t lay inside four walls of a building. We, as people, are the church. We have been called to love our neighbors, to walk into a place that is less comfortable and a little more unpredictable, and to let our neighbors know they are loved and not alone. Show up and be there for them, and let God do the rest.