We have some new neighbors. They live sporadically on our front wall and are in the business of the trading of illegal substances. they seem pretty friendly.
And how exactly does one react to these new neighbors..?
firstly one does not refer to one selves as 'one' in front of them.
One is pretty sure that would get one's head kicked in.
Secondly, I suggested opening up 'Rae's munchies stand' so we too can benefit from the prime drug dealing location that is our wall, others, namely the father in law suggested I bake cake, give it them for free and maybe just chat with them and in a nice way ask them to move before I feel the need to call the police. Little less lucrative than my suggestion but probably rather more spiritual minded.
So I am yet to bake them cake, or chat to them. But that is only because I'm a complete wuss.
But i keep talking about being in the community and doing something radical, and then an opportunity arises and i just shut my curtains and ignore the rather stale smell of weed calling me outdoors to the face the challenge. I mean what is the point in 'being' if it just becomes a passive reaction to the world around me?
I recently said in a post on here that I love living in Easton, that I am not here out of sense of calling, but just out of wanting to 'be' here, to invest here and that I really do feel comfortable.
Honestly, I am beginning to feel rather uncomfortable here... we have drug dealers outside our house, we have had a fatal stabbing round the corner and i am pretty sure the guy down the road is planning on stealing our dog.
I really could just close my curtains on it all, I could very easily call the community police officer and get him round, or even set up a neighborhood watch but then my husband turns round to me and says 'lets pray about it and then go and chat to them, get to know them if we can, but lets not be the people who call the police... lets find a different way.' oh, he is soooo his fathers son.
It challenges me to find that third way of being... not reacting humanly and not over spiritualizing things... but being radical and different, being immersed in this world but not entangled in it.
It excites me... this is where i live and this is what we are trying to do... be actively pursuing God's kingdom. Investing in people, whoever they are and no matter what drugs they deal...
A long time ago, and constantly ever since, I confessed to loving God, to believing in him and to having a longing to follow him, no matter what and no matter where it led me, I did secretly wish that it would be some nice suburb in Vancouver but I am here, in Easton, and now I am asking...
God... what does 'being' look like to you, here and now and with this community?
Does 'being' have to be an active thing or can it be both active and passive?
What does the kingdom of God look like on my front wall when some guy hands over a bag of pills in exchange for a huge stash of cash?
And please don't let the scary man steal my dog
amen
We don't have drug dealers sat on our front wall.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have a front wall. It is somewhat prickly to one's backside to perch atop a hedge.
We do however endeavour to make our local drug dealers to feel welcome on the bench at the end of the road, next to the disconnected phone box which serves as a convenient 'drop.'
And whilst it would be impossible to nick our non-existent dog, my daughter and I would have words if anyone nicked "Grumpy Bear"...
Oh, and
ReplyDeleteI think "being" is both active and passive. Jesus was passively sleeping in the boat before actively rebuking some stormage...
Hmmm, so what would Jesus do if his front wall was being used as an adult confectionery get together?
I don't think he would demand a cut of the takings in return for providing the deal facilities, even if he would then donate it to his local synagogue.
I don't think he would close his curtains either.
In my old church we would do stuff on rough estates where sometimes the people we spoke to were really cool, friendly and non-aggressive. In their own little social way they would then move from dealing drugs on like, the church doorstep, because we had become acceptable, and no-one craps on their own doorstep right?
Other times they would get a little threatening, such as when they tried to burn down our church's outreach marquee on an inebriated Friday evening, and then pulled a knife when we tried to stop them...
Good angelic protected times as I recall.
So I guess the answer is pray and then in the absence of any blinding lights and booming voices, follow the Word and your gut instinct.
Rae
ReplyDeleteI think you guys are great, don't give your selves a hard time. Be wise, be real and stick together. You and Andy are a great team.
Being present in Easton is a daily challenge, at times a joy and others a chore. Lets not forget the power of prayer as we navigate our way through the challenges....don't go it alone.
Come for food. When are you free?