Today is Day 11 of the "write31days" challenge. Once again I am linking up with Kate Motaung for the FMF free writes. Be sure to check out each day's post here.I really miss the "good ole days"!! Those days when your door was never locked.
When your neighbor was your best friend; and she just knocked once and walked right inside. When you shared a cup of coffee or a glass of tea almost every day while your kids played in their room or outside.
Maybe those days still exist!? In my world, they don't. I only know a few of the neighbors around me, and we live in an apartment!
When I was a military wife and we lived in "housing", our doors were like I described above. Our neighbors were our friends; not just a face behind another door that we hardly ever saw.
I remember my two-year old daughter running over to my best friends apartment and letting herself in the door...that was not locked! She helped herself to a pickle from the jar kept there just for her!
{And, not that it made any difference to me then, nor does it now...we were not the same color}
Those were great community days!
Not so much any more...
Have you seen that Facebook post that shows up occasionally..asking if there was a knock at your door in the middle of the night and the person was weeping and in some sort of trouble, would you open your door and help? {I would have posted it but couldn't find it again!!}
The new carried a story recently about a woman who had escaped from an abusive situation. She frantically ran through the neighborhood, running up to random houses and ringing the doorbell. Nobody came to the door; it was late at night or early morning. It was captured on the video camera attached to the house. Eventually the abuser was captured, and the woman received the help needed.
Maybe we should open our doors more often. Help those who are knocking at our door, literally or physically.
Maybe we should get to know our neighbors better. Do they have any children? Where do they work? What do they enjoy doing together? What do we have in common?
But, in this day and time, we are afraid to open our door. Who or what is on the other side of the door? Will they cause me discomfort, or be dangerous?
Many of us are way too busy to take the time to get to know someone we don't already know.
Sounds a little backwards, doesn't it?! How will we get to know someone we don't know unless we reach out and try?
The psalmist cries out to God to keep His door open. To be available in his times of need.
"You've always been right there for me; don't turn your back on me now. Don't throw me out, don't abandon me; you've always kept the door open..." (Psalm 27:9-10 Message).
Will we be there when our neighbors are in need? Or, will we stand on the other side and watch their distress on our video camera?
I am blessed to live in a neighborhood that is a tiny little off shoot off of a Dead end road... we most definitely are the neighborhood you described from the good ole days! We are well aware that this is, sadly, not as common as it used to be! This post made me think of the book (and movement) called The Turquoise Table! It's all about a call to become frontyard people again! I think you would love it!
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