I don’t remember much of my childhood, but I do remember the freedom we had to run around the neighborhood.  We spent the days riding our bikes up and down the street to each other’s houses. We were the girl version of the movie Stand By Me or The Sandlot. We would walk in the irrigation canal looking for crawfish, ride bikes to Blockbuster to rent movies, build forts in the bushes, swim without adult supervision…the list goes on and on. As kids we thought we ruled the world, and my parents were just as cool. They organized holiday block parties, hosted weekend barbecues and pool parties. Some of the best friends my parents had were our neighbors.

Now it’s our turn to carry on that legacy. Community is a BIG deal for Matt and me. We want our lives to reflect Christ and one of the easiest ways we can do that is by loving our neighbors, the people that live and sleep within feet of us.

Recently, my son Wyatt (10) made friends with the kids down the street. I love Wyatt because he has a tender heart and loves BIG. However, he is not naturally gifted when it comes to sports, and hasn’t had any interest in playing competitive sports until about a year ago. All of our neighborhood kids play basketball and football in their front yards nearly every afternoon, and Wyatt wanted in on the action. There were many days when he would come home crying because the kids were teasing him, saying he wasn’t good enough or couldn’t throw the ball. I wanted to protect him from the negativity, but I knew that if he kept pursuing these kids, he would come out on top eventually. You see–Wyatt loves to draw, sing, dance, and make people laugh. He’s “different” from the kids down the street, but slowly they started seeing Wyatt for his original design and liked him for who he was and not what he wasn’t.

One Sunday, Wyatt invited one of the boys down the street to church and we extended the invitation to his mother. This particular boy has was at times kind to Wyatt and at other times prone to teasing. In my eyes he was a “rough” kid. But that Sunday, we all went to church together and what the Lord had in store for us was HOLY!

We were in a series titled “WE > ME” and that Sunday the pastor talked about neighbors. The one Sunday that we came to church with our neighbors, the message is about community in our neighborhood. I looked over at my neighbor and we both grinned ear to ear. I couldn’t help but feel the nudge from the Lord telling me to listen up. At this point, I wasn’t willing to admit it, but I was giving up on this little boy down the street. I wanted to protect Wyatt even though my son was willing to give this boy another chance. For me, protecting Wyatt almost meant living life in this neighborhood without his having to interact with this boy. Thankfully, Wyatt and the Lord had other plans.

Our pastor talked about how most of us come home from work, pull into our garage, and shut the door behind us, hoping the neighbors won’t notice that we are home. As a culture, we avoid eye contact, conversation, and dare I say — relationships. We use our garages and the walls around our yards to keep people out. The Gospel calls us to open our doors and lives. We as believers in Christ are called to:

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it:
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” -Matthew 22:37-39

God created us to be in community with the people around us. The Lord says, “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). Why do we resist the very thing that the Lord calls us into?

We all have a little fear of truly being known. Being in community forces us to be known in a way that naturally creates intimacy with the people around us. Suddenly, the people that are closest to us–geographically–know us in both the good and the bad. This can be a scary place, but the Lord invites us to open our garage doors and begin to leave them open.

That Sunday on the way home from church, the mother of the boy down the street opened up and told me a little bit about her story. It was heavy. All those walls I had put up to protect Wyatt suddenly didn’t matter anymore. I knew a piece of their story, and what I learned would forever change the way I saw this family.

Wyatt has a sweet friendship with this boy now. He comes over for dinner, sleeps over, comes to church with us, and engages in regular conversation with Matt and me. He even plays jump rope with my three year old in the front yard. He’s just a kid, a kid with a story that has shaped who he is today, a kid that I had been willing to shut the garage door on.

What would it look like if we kept our garage doors open just a little bit longer when we get home? What if we stopped what we were doing and asked our neighbors how they are doing and eventually we are known in our own neighborhoods? Matt and I love to let the kids play in the driveway with bikes, jump rope, chalk, football, and of course, the dog. By opening our garage door and facing out, we have now met so many of our neighbors. We are taking the risk to be known. I have heard more neighbors say what a joy it is to see all the kids in the street playing together. There is life in the streets again! I can only imagine the look on our Father’s face as He watches us take a risk to be in our original design with those closest to us. I want to see His face light up in delight….don’t you?

Let’s risk being known and keep our garage doors open!
Dana Seymour
Revelation Wellness Director of RevWellTV & Customer Care Coordinator

We would love to have you join us for a great #workoutwednesday! Meet Jana, a Revelation Wellness Instructor and Christian holistic doctor in a great Spin workout!

“ORIGINAL DESIGN” (13:06) – Find any stationary bike and give this workout a “spin”. This is cardiovascular training at its finest. Great for those who would like to avoid high-impact and give their lower body joints a break.

What happens when a fitness teacher becomes a gospel preacher?

Join us as we begin June with #BOLDINTHESOUL. Watch social media for more information!