The Secret Garden Chronicles~Love Thy Neighbor

Ahhh, The Secret Garden is so lovely and peaceful today! There's a cool breeze, the birds are singing in the treetops, butterflies are flitting about...it's a beautiful spring day! Oh, and the wisteria is blooming again! Remember how upset I was that the little freeze we had a week ago killed all the blossoms on the wisteria vine?  Well...here it is today:

I was so happy to see them revive!  That brought a smile to my face today!

We had our neighborhood BBQ here last night, and it was such a delightful time getting acquainted with new friends!  I can't believe I didn't even take one picture!  We were having such a good time that I totally forgot!

We ended the evening in the Secret Garden (which everyone now knows isn't really a secret anymore!).  I was sharing the story of how it all began.  It was a beautiful moment...and then everyone enjoyed being scolded by the chickadees as they arrived back at their birdhouse/nest and shooed us all away so they could go in and tend to their babies and/or eggs.  I don't know how far along they are yet as I can't see inside the birdhouse, so I'll just have to wait and see!  Anyway, it was a fun way to end the evening and everyone went home with smiles on their faces and promises to get together more often in the future.

This morning's devotional reading was from Mark 12:28-34, and the verse that stood out especially for me was verse 31, in which Jesus says:

"You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

I mean, how appropriate is that after spending a wonderful evening with our neighbors last night?

But, sometimes neighbors can be difficult to love, although I must say, this group we had here at our house last night was quite "lovable".  However, it hasn't always been so with the whole neighborhood.  We had one set of neighbors (actually, since we've lived here 5 years, there have been several different sets living in the same house, one after another) who were quite difficult to endure.  I won't go into details, but let's just sum it up by saying that no one was unhappy to see these different sets of "tenants" leave the neighborhood.  There were many times over the past few years that I'd find myself praying they'd move away and take all their junk, noisy trucks and screaming inhabitants and give us some peace and quiet.  And then I'd have to pray and ask God to forgive me for not "loving my neighbors as myself"...and ask the Lord to help me try to love them and see them as He saw them...through His eyes.  But I must admit, I was not the most kind-hearted neighbor. I truly just wanted them gone.  So now they are gone, and we have discovered that new people have purchased the house and do not intend to rent it out, and from what I am able to ascertain, they should be a "bit easier to love".

That does NOT let me off the hook, however.  God didn't say that I should only love the lovable neighbor.  He said to "love your neighbor as yourself."  No qualifications included. So all the nice things I may do in the future for my new and/or current neighbors doesn't really excuse my previous dislike for my former neighbors...but it is at least a place to start.

We may not always be able to go back and undo or rework our previous prejudices or uncharitable thoughts and/or actions, but we can strive to do better in the future.  We can pray for forgiveness for our lack of compassion, and move forward with positive intentions and actions in the future.  When we run across difficult neighbors in the future, we can approach them with the love of Christ in our hearts and on our lips.  

As I stood up from the bench in the Secret Garden today, I looked around the neighborhood and prayed for my neighbors, and for me to be a better neighbor. 

One thing I thought about was this gate that stands at the back entrance to our property, blocking entry from anyone coming in from that street. 

 We rarely use that gate as we have another entry on the front side, but this is the only section that directly leads to the street where our neighbors live.  When our neighbors were walking over to our house last night for the BBQ, some were unsure as to whether or not they should come into our yard through this entrance, even though we had opened the gate early in the day to make sure they knew they could enter this way.

Lesson learned for me personally...Open the gate of my heart so that others know they are welcome... My prayer is that my neighbors will know they are welcome anytime...not just to our home, but to us personally.

  As I continued to pray about these thoughts and feelings today, this particular song came to my mind:

Make Me A Blessing

1. Out in the highways and byways of life,
many are weary and sad;
Carry the sunshine where darkness is rife
making the sorrowing glad.

Refrain:
Make me a blessing,
Make me a blessing,
Out of my life
May Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

2. Tell the sweet story of Christ and His love;
Tell of His pow'r to forgive;
Others will trust Him if only you prove
true ev'ry moment you live.

Refrain

3.  Give as 'twas given to you in your need;
Love as the Master loved you;
Be to the helpless a helper indeed;
Unto your mission be true.

Refrain

Yes, this is my prayer today...not just for my neighborhood, but wherever I may go:

Make me a blessing,
Make me a blessing,
Out of my life
May Jesus shine;
Make me a blessing, O Savior, I pray,
Make me a blessing to someone today.

Amen!