Jill's Journal

For the two years now we have been living in our neighborhood and I have been looking for ways to get to know my neighbors better. Honestly, it has been a slower process than I had hoped and I was starting to wonder if anything would come of these friendships. On the surface, three of my neighbors seemed to have it “all sorted”...they seemed “emotionally unavailable” to developing a new relationship, so I had in a way become stagnant in pursuing them. But I could sense the Spirit telling me not to give up. To persevere. To reach out to them again. So, I did. With each neighbor I did something different depending on what God was asking me to do...for one it was baking muffins and writing a note, for another it was dropping by to give her some baby clothes, and with the last, I simply stopped by for a chat. The most amazing thing occurred. Each person was struggling in a different way when I showed up and God used me in their lives to meet a need. It was glorious! It was so wonderful for me to see that just as God is patient with us and continues to pursue us, that in a similar way we should be patient with each other and continue to be available, open, and approachable in our relationships. God’s timing is not our timing. God also taught me that as human beings we really need community and within community it pays to be vulnerable. People can help meet our needs when we are honest about how we are really doing. I mean really doing. The past few months many painful events have unfolded in the lives of friends in New Zealand and in the U.S. and it has been amazing to see the body of Christ come around them, help them; and heal them. Being honest with others about struggles in my own life has opened up ways for them to reach out to me and show me that I am not alone. You see, we are all more alike than we might think. We ALL have something that we struggle with and we all need a heavenly Father to heal us. [From Jill]