It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

I've been fortunate enough to really have beefed up the level of friendships I have in the past year. That was an aspect that I had specifically prayed about and God answered very quickly. It's been amazing to see how my circle of girlfriends has grown - in both size and quality of relationship and accountability to meet regularly with each other in true support as friends.

One of the ladies God has brought my way through an amazing set of circumstances happens to have recently moved into my neighborhood. We have a lot in common, including her enjoyment of writing and speaking. She sent me some thoughts she was putting together for our neighborhood newsletter. I liked the sentiment she expressed, which reminds us how important friendships and a sense of community and connection are, particularly in this disjointed, disconnected and autonomous society. So I'll share it here for you:

It’s beautiful day in the neighborhood here. The beauty of the Christmas decorations recently lit up the neighborhood and hopefully lit up your spirits too. Some homes were lit with white, others with blue and some were fun for the kids. It’s always fun to drive and look at all the decorations and lights each year. This was our first Christmas in this neighborhood, and driving from the front of the neighborhood to the back and all around was a nice display of lights.

The famous quote of Mr. Rogers, “It’s a beautiful day in the neighborhood!” has been the thought in my mind ever since we moved in. We have been welcomed in by our new neighbors and that’s special in today’s world. Life is so busy these days! But
it’s been like the good old days here for us. Remember when a neighbor would walk over for a glass of lemonade on the porch on a hot summer’s day or come over to borrow a cup of sugar? It has been that old-fashioned feeling right from the start, with home grown tomatoes brought to us, welcome notes, and others popping over to chat and offer help if we needed anything. Right away we felt as though we had met more than neighbors: we had gained new friends.

We see this throughout the neighborhood as we drive to and from our house. There are walkers and bikers and, of course, golfers. There are people walking their dogs and people stopping to talk one to another. I know our dogs have met many neighbors on their morning walks!

We have experienced the end of last summer, all of fall and now winter has come to greet us. Each season has its beauty. Something in the summer season I didn’t think was all that beautiful, a copperhead snake, found itself behind our trash can. But studying the picture taken after its death, it did appear rather remarkable with its copper coloring shining brightly. However, I think I’d prefer looking at the shining Christmas lights!

We fell in love with the beauty of God’s creation (including the snake?!) all around us here from the first time we stepped out of our car. We love having people over to share the beauty we see each and everyday. Those who visit us for the first time ask: “How in the world did you find this place?”

It’s winter time now and people will be staying inside more, but looking out the window or stepping out the front door, a neighbor is always near. Why not ask them over for a cup of cocoa and talk about the good old days, or borrow a cup of sugar and make them a pie in return?! It can be a beautiful day in the neighborhood on any given day when we take the time to really be a neighbor!

(Written by Barbara Wheatley of Mountain Top Ministries)

Thanks for the insights and reminder, Barbara! And welcome to the neighborhood!