Mr. Roger's Neighborhood

As I was thinking over the content of today’s blog post, I couldn’t help but to envision the way in which my wife interacted in the different neighborhoods that we lived in over the years.  In many respects, she was a lot like my mom.  Both of my parents loved to garden, so they spent a fair amount of time in our front yard tending to the various trees, flowers, bushes and the lawn.

That was back in the time when most of the neighbors mowed their own lawns and tended to their own landscaping.*  And when they were out, they actively conversed with each other!  My mom knew all the neighbors and enjoyed a friendly, first name relationship with all of them.

Piper grew up in a totally different environment.  Her family lived at the top of a steep, narrow private road with only a handful of neighbors hidden sporadically behind tall, old oak trees, on rocky and hilly terrain.  But when we moved into our first home… well… you never would have guessed it!

Before you knew it, she was acquainted with the vast majority of the neighbors, and in particular the one’s with whom our children interacted with.  She was a hands-on mom and would actively participate with the kids in many of the games they played.

As was her innate nature, she always had a sensitive awareness to people in need and it wasn’t unusual to find her ministering to what some of the kids and adult neighbors would call the “weird” or “unlikable” residents on the block.  Take for example the last house we lived in for about ten years before moving to Oklahoma for Bible School in 2006.

It was in a good neighborhood with lots of kids and an interesting array of residents.  The house to the left of our home was occupied by a single mom with a young daughter… and two of the dumbest cats I have ever seen!  I can’t say that Piper was really close with the mom, but I do remember various occasions when I saw Piper standing on our driveway or hers as she ministered peace and love to the gal when she would confide in Piper concerning the stress she was experiencing with her personal family situation… and with the unresponsive property owner from whom she was renting her house.

On the other side of our home was an older lady who most of the other neighbors told us early on… to avoid as much as possible!  She was known to be cranky, complaining and very apt to yell at any kids who ventured near her yard.  Well… wouldn’t you know… Piper went out of her way to be friendly to the lady… and it didn’t take very long before they were best of buddies!

It turned out that the lady was just very lonely and experiencing declining health.  She had a couple of adult children who lived out of town and never seemed to find the time to visit her.  After a while, it wasn’t unusual for me to come home from work to find the older lady and Piper merrily chatting away on our front porch or talking together at the kitchen table.  The gal received her daily meals through the Meals on Wheels program and would regularly bring over the little fruit cups that came with her dinners for our kids to enjoy… albeit it they weren’t very good… but the kids ate them – with Piper’s prodding - with a smile and profusely thanked the lady! 

I even went over a few times to help her with different problems she had with her TV and other electronics in the home.  When our neighbor’s health declined to the point that her family wanted to sell her house and move her into an assisted living home, Piper became her advocate and helped to arbitrate an agreeable plan between her and her family for the senior’s future.

As I’ve mentioned before, Piper lived with a very practical application of her faith.  She was confident in who her Bible said that she was within the kingdom of God and emanated a soothing and encouraging fragrance of peace and joy.  I guess that you could say that she simply “cooperated” with Christ in everything she did, said and thought.

Romans 14:17-18 in The Passion Translation tells us that,

“The kingdom of God is not a matter of rules (Do’s and Don’ts) about food and drink, (or anything else for that matter) but is in the realm of the Holy Spirit, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy.  Serving the Anointed One (ie; Christ) by walking in these kingdom realities pleases God and earns the respect of others.” 

You see, to Piper, the kingdom of God, as presented to us through His Word, was the reality of her life.  She knew that the Word that she had in her heart and lived out through her daily life, could and would change any negative situation that she was faced with… on any given day and place.  The peace and joy that she embodied drew our neighbors and especially those with needs to her… and with her gentle, encouraging and outgoing nature… she won them over in a short period of time.

The Remedy New Testament expresses Romans 14:18 as,

“Anyone who cooperates with Christ in this way pleases God and is admired by people.” 

And that, like I stated above, is how I witnessed my sweet wife living her life, day in and day out… from her high school days to the beginning of her senior years, some 48 years later!

Since I have been studying these verses in the book of Romans, I often wonder if my life is cooperating with Christ in the things that I say, do and/or think?

How about you?  Have you ever considered how much your life is cooperating with the reality of God’s Word? 

From what I have seen over the years, the only way that we are going to know the answer to that question… is by knowing what is in the Word and persevering in our efforts to abide by it… and then to live it out on a daily basis!

When I think about Piper’s interactions in the neighborhoods we lived in, I can’t help but to think about the long running PBS TV show, “Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood” … and while I can’t say that we ever watched the program… I do know that it embodied a sense of community, as well as safe and loving interactions between neighbors and a place where wisdom was shared on a regular basis.

So, in that respect, I could say without a doubt, that life in “Miss Piper’s Neighborhood” was quite the same… with the addition of God wisely being shared with a sense of community, love and safety.  Can you say the same about your neighborhood?

I pray that all of you are enjoying a pleasurable and peaceful Memorial Day weekend here in the USA, while we celebrate and honor the lives of those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country.  Because of their sacrifices we get to enjoy the freedoms that we hold dear in the USA and be able to live in neighborhoods like “Miss Piper’s Neighborhood” where the love of God and the blessings we enjoy in the Kingdom of God, are available to all of us!

 

*I noticed the other day that I am the only one on my end of the block that mows his own lawn… and I am the oldest of all of them.   But what can I say?  I really enjoy working in the yard… it gives me a real sense of satisfaction and peace!