In the Neighborhood

Last night, Kaylea, Sophie and I went for a walk and found ourselves at a baseball game. One of the dads down the street was playing street ball, using a tennis ball, with 6 other kids, all in the 6th grade. We sat ourselves down and cheered them on for a while, before getting involved in the game. We quickly learned about them.

Blake couldn't hit the knuckball.
Angelica was more interested in Sophie than baseball.
Chase liked to try and steal bases.
Matt was either gonna hit a double or strike out.

I became the permanent catcher while Sophie played in rain puddles and Kaylea played with bugs. We had a wonderful time playing with the neighbors, and it reminded me of a time I never personally knew--an era of front porch swings and greeting neighbors in the evening.

We all seek security and safety by nature. But in our efforts to protect ourselves and our families, we have forgotten what community looks like. It's a good thing that Jesus moved into the neighborhood to show us that loving our neighbor doesn't just mean the person next door, but also the illegal immigrant, the Iraqi student, the person who looks different...

By the way, everyone won the game, score was never kept.