In the last blog, “Who is My Neighbor?”, your neighbor was defined as anyone God puts in your path. But, we to an extent choose our paths. With the business of life and all the activities available within the body of Christ, our paths may never cross with anyone except Christians. If you are hard-pressed to name a friend (a neighbor you see fairly often) who does not know Jesus then I would challenge you to ask the questions: Where is my neighbor? and then: Where can I alter my path?
Altering your path could mean pausing longer at certain points on the already existent path. For me, much of my time in the past 15 years has been spent at my kid’s sporting events. Many parents show up when the game starts and exit to the next thing as soon as the game ends. There are many ways to pause longer and get to know your neighbors. You could coach the team. I did that for many years and got to know coaches, players and parents. Teams also need managers. The manager is the communicator for the team. The manager and coaches can also plan events with the team families. God, through you, could transform your kid’s way of getting exercise into a “neighborhood”.
Sometimes you need to add new routes to your path. You could join the neighborhood swim club. You could join the PTO. You could join a neighborhood group who plans block parties. You could join your neighborhood’s Facebook group and help people find plumbers and Jesus.
My family is anticipating a huge life change. Next fall we will be empty nesters. No more high school sporting events. The High school, which has been my second home for the last 7 years, will very suddenly drop off my path. I need to begin thinking about new paths.
I would love to hear your thoughts on the questions: Where is my neighbor? and: Where can I alter my path?. I need some new ideas. We all need some new ideas. I would like to publish your ideas in a future blog. So, send your ideas to outreach@newlifeglenside.com.
