Loving My Actual Neighbor by Alexandra Kuykendall

Author:Alexandra Kuykendall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living/Personal Growth;Love—Religious aspects—Christianity;Neighborliness—Religious aspects—Christianity;REL012070;REL012120
ISBN: 9781493416363
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

The fundraising began, the negotiations were made, and the city permit was requested, disputed, and requested again. The realization that there was meth in the walls from years of flophouse living was just one unexpected interruption that needed to be addressed. The meth remediation alone took months and tens of thousands of unplanned dollars. And the whole time Derek kept his eye on what he was assigned to do and took the hard along with the good.

Then there were architectural designs, construction management, new costs, and hiring of staff. With each challenge Derek did “a thorough job as God’s servant” so future residents would hear the message that God knows them and loves them. But with each challenge he also had to consider what God might be directing. Was the zoning dispute, disappointing fundraising event, or increased construction cost a sign that the project should be abandoned? Derek and his team prayed and felt the nudge to go ahead with the next step.

And the timeline? Well, it has been years in the making. The plans took some time, and then real-life setbacks got in the way. But the perseverance of so many on the team to keep working, keep fundraising, keep doing the thing right in front of them so they could house these young people, inspires me. Each person did the task in their assignment, often with an extra dose of creativity. The electricians did their task (until they walked off the job because they didn’t want to work the week of Christmas), and the landscape architects did theirs. Even the man who sold the building wanted the property to have a legacy of healing and hope. He took a personal financial loss to sell to Providence Network rather than a corporate developer who would have demolished the home and rebuilt from the ground up.

It’s easy to do the easy work. Stating the obvious once again, right? When we carry out the duties to treasure the people right in front of us, we must stick it out in order to “do a thorough job as God’s servant.” Whether sticking it out means having a ten-minute conversation with a neighbor across the alley who would love somebody’s undivided attention as she talks about her cat’s diabetes, or standing in front of the zoning board to create a new home for homeless young adults, it is all to love the neighbors right in front of us.

When issues come up, we are not to charge ahead simply for perseverance’s sake. These are opportunities to reevaluate if indeed the task in front of us is still the assignment.

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