Neighbors: Ready Soil to Plant In

As most of you know, several members of my extended family have also moved this summer. I was visiting my grandparents at their new home in Charlotte, NC, on Friday; & my grandfather & I took Derek for a walk around the neighborhood that evening. I was so amazed at the number of people my grandfather already knew, after having been there for a little over a week. I was amazed, yet not surprised. He is amazing like that. It doesn't take him long to get to know people, & I know he has really touched a lot of people throughout his life. People know he is someone they can go to & talk to about their problems. They can go to him for help or for advice (like advice on which of my plants are weeds & which are keepers, or for spiritual advice).

We also have met three of our neighbors in the new neighborhood, & I am excited about the prospect of talking to them in the future about my faith. We ought to be on fire to share our faith with everyone with whom we come in contact. We would push them out of the way of oncoming traffic, wouldn't we?! That is so difficult for some of us--being willing to put ourselves out there like that--making ourselves vulnerable to people. I encourage you to look at your neighbors in a different light (if you're not already looking at them this way): they are a mission field. They are soil, waiting for the seed to be planted. Whether or not they're the "good soil" is up to them, & God will do the watering when the time is ready. Talk to God today about giving you opportunities to help your neighbors, to talk to your neighbors, to reach out to your neighbors & share your faith.

I'll be praying for you too. :)