Last night just down the road from us...about 5 houses over, at around 10pm a man stabbed and killed his ex-wife. When our kids came home from their Valentine's movie date, they came in the house to tell us that there were many police cars and a couple of ambulances down the street, but no one knew what was going on. Not being overly curious (and also being in my pjs, ready for bed), I just crawled into bed to read before falling asleep while the others went outside to see what was happening. Upon waking this morning, Kevin read on-line about the murder. Danae and I took the long way around on our walk to the gym today and had a chat with a neighbor about the evening's occurrences. As Danae and I walked away we got to talking about our neighbors and how we really don't know them. When we lived in the small town where we came from, we knew just about everyone! Kevin was like the town pastor - he married, buried, blessed, counselled just about everyone (or so it seemed)! We couldn't go anywhere without knowing people. We knew 80% of the people on our street - their names, their children's names, where they worked, you name it.... we knew our neighbors. But now that we live in a big, transient city where just about everyone has a 5-6 foot fence around their property, it is really difficult to get to know our neighbors. It definitely takes a concerted effort! Also when you don't have children outside playing together it's much less conducive to spontaneous visits.
The neighbor I mentioned earlier that we spoke with on the street is Tony. And how we met him is a most unique story. About two months ago we were having a Monday night dinner celebration night campfire in our yard. Everyone had invited an extra guest so we had 16 people sitting around visiting, laughing and enjoying each others' company. Around 9.pm there is a knock on our front door. Thinking we were in trouble for having a campfire (which is in a barbeque pit - very safe), we went to the door, only to be met by Tony. He had been sitting on his deck enjoying an evening drink & a cigarette when he heard the happy sounds coming from our yard and decided to come and join us! So he came on out to our back yard, met everyone and enjoyed a visit with us. Kevin and him have spent more time together (like the night he came over at 10.30pm very distraught because his pet dragon had died). It's been wonderful getting to know him and his partner.
However, besides a handful of others, that is the extent of our neighborly relations. After hearing the terribly sad news of last night, it sure has us thinking about our neighbors and wondering how we can reach out to them, get to know them, encourage them, and be available to talk to when they need a listening ear or a helping hand. Danae wrote it very well in her blog, as we've both been contemplative about this today.
How do you know what is happening with your neighbors and if they too are in desperate trouble, and in need of a friend? Something to think about, be aware of, and look for ways to be an encouragement.
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