To be honest, on these summer days all I want to do on most days is hoard my stuff, my space, and my people. I love being with my people. So much so that one of my favorite things is going ANYWHERE with "just us six", including the grocery store. I know it drives most people crazy. And, it's not easy. It's not quiet. But, it's right. All seems right in my world when I'm doing things with this family God has given to me!
But, on the days where I want to close all the blinds, tell my kids to come in from playing, and keep everything for myself, God gently whispers.
And, what He says grabs my heart every time: "I placed you here. On purpose." We are on this street, in this neighborhood, apart of this school, in our small group, at this very time, on purpose. You know what? We are actually right where we asked to be. We are in a place where the gospel doesn't reign supreme. Right here in small town America. We are in a town where poverty lives right next to mansions on the lake. It is overlooked. We are in a town full of families who need to know a God who loves them, sees them, and will never leave them. And, we asked for this. To be right in the middle of it. So, what does that look like?
Well, for us, it means engaging. Sometimes that engaging comes naturally. And, sometimes it takes so much intentionality, scheduling, and planning. We have to choose over and over to interact with people. We have to choose to meet parents at school programs. I have to ask for phone numbers which force me to follow-up. Then we have to reach out. I have found people in our culture to be so busy, that most will not do the reaching out. But, I know people are longing for loving community. People are longing for genuine environments to be themselves and have fun! What if we can be that place for someone?
So, here are some things we have discussed & decided so that we don't miss the opportunities God gives us to be generous with our time, space, and stuff!
Our home is open. As much as I want this to be our safe place, I want more to reach our community. It's open to all. It's open to the kids who have different ideals and values. I hope as the years go by there are more and more kids in our home, more and more families doing life around our table. I hope there are more and more conversations about life happening with people far from God. I hope people see us how we are--real people who are desperately trying to love God and love people. I hope they see how we mess up and fail. And, I hope they see how intentional we are about sharing grace and truth with our kids. Sometimes I get nervous when people invade our space because we are who we are here...the good and the bad. But, I think, somehow, that's how God intended it to be. Living life on life, investing our hearts in the people around us.
Our schedule is open. I fully believe we can get so busy that we literally have no margin to invest in other people. I want empty space on my calendar so that we can do for others, so that we can just exist and be in our neighborhood. So, we are very intentional about not filling our calendar up. I know this is a battle we will have to fight more and more as our kids get older. But, we have said we value God's purpose, and I believe He has made it so clear to us. So, we will have to say no to other things so that we have room in our calendar to love our neighbors.
We budget for generosity. It sounds so unromantic. But, without it, I would certainly use all of our resources for us, our safe place, and making our life prettier. So, what does this mean? Well, it means that we have access to cash to spend on our community. I can buy supplies for teachers. We can take dinner to teachers on a late night. I can buy food for people in our community. And, I don't have to sweat it. God has given us so much, and when we give it away, it seems right. It fits into God's purposes for us. The dollars are labeled for our community and I can share them guilt free. So, because we planned and budgeted, we get to give a lot more away!
We say yes to opportunities to build relationships. This one gets tricky as a parent. Sometimes it means hanging out in difficult places. Sometimes it means being in homes that are different than ours. Sometimes it means putting our family or our kids on the edge of safety. I think the Bible talks a lot more about sending my kids out than about protecting my kids. So, even though as a mom I want my kids to make it through life unharmed, what I want more is for them to dive into the messy places, into the margins where Jesus seems to show up the most. I want them to have first-hand experience of His mercy, grace, truth, love, and faithfulness. I want them to watch the dirty become clean. I want them to be part of justice and fighting the hard fights. So, we are starting now with messy relationships, with messy families, with people living differently than us, so that we can be right in the middle of what God is doing!
We are so far from getting this right, but it is a constant conversation in our home. How are we investing our time, our space, and our resources? How am I sharing my people with the world when really I just want to keep them all to myself? Who is hurting and how can we help? Who is looking for love and doesn't know it comes through Jesus?
While I believe it is my responsibility to lead my kids into a loving and growing relationship with Jesus, I want part of our family adventure to be marked by those we invited to join us!
Comments