Neighbors

So yesterday, I awoke to phone calls (not from work) around 7:45am — that is just dreadfully early, especially on a Saturday.  Next door, our neighbors were hurriedly packing up all their belongs, as the movers moved in and out of the house like a little ants.  In the afternoon, I chatted with the father and he took a job in San Jose and I exclaimed that's kind a far, and he said not really "we came from St. Louis".  As I wished him and his family well, I wondered if the life that my roommate and I lead made a difference in his life?  Hmmm. . .

Contrast that with our neighbor upstairs who plays on a basketball team with my roommate.  Now, we play our music a little loud (roommate's a DJ), watch our shows a little too loud, laugh a little too loud, but generally I think we are good tenants.  We got into it one day with him, and how we responded made every difference in the world.  If we fired back, how are we different.  If we yelled, how are we different.  We chose to be different.  Now, my roommate has started building a relationship with him – why so we can change him, convert him, and cross him off our "spiritual to-do list"?  No, because God calls us to love people.  If he becomes a believer, fantastic.  If we have helped him a little further on his spiritual journey – fantastic.  If we don't condemn him, fantastic. 

Our lease was up for renewal this year, and we really wanted to find a house, and we started looking and then. . .life happened.  We both got super busy, and it went by the way side, and I can't help but think that maybe, just maybe, our assignment from God isn't over yet. 

I wonder whose moving in next door????