it is well...

My family has the reputation of the mystery neighbors in our cul de sac. My parents are atleast 10 years older than the next oldest couple in our neighborhood, and while my parents biggest concern is figuring out how to send 2 kids to college, the rest of our neighborhood is financing diapers and girl scout uniforms. However. Each family in our neighborhood comes with a beautiful story. Brett and Amy across the street just went from being young foster parents of a 6-year-old little boy to adoptive parents of this little boy and his 2 siblings in order to keep them all together. 0-3 kids in literally a matter of days. The Hansens next door invite us all into their story as their 9-year-old, severely autistic, "Zach-Man" wonders around the neighborhood. We don't hear too much from Cheryl...she's a night-shift Minneapolis cop who has a 'lady-friend' living with her.

It's a rare occurance that I partake in the neighborhood activities. Partly due to the fact that the vast majority of them include talent shows and slip and slides. However, last night we got a call around 5 from next-door saying that their grill was hot, so BYOM and come hang out. My dad and I walked over started our tastey 'buffalo burgers' and so began our night. I watched as the red radio flyers rolled in carrying kids, coolers, and cookies to share.

Within 10 minutes, there was probably 10 families, 50 hotdogs, and dozens of hungry little munchkins running through the sprinkler while their "hang-a-ber was on the gwill".

The sun was settle behind the clouds creating a calm and comforting warmth, and the wind blew gently. To my right sat "Chueng" who speaks little english, and didn't really interact with anyone, but nonetheless was grinning from ear to ear. To my left sat Amy, the new 'mother of 3'. Who was tired. I watched and listened to her as she began to try the ropes of this whole mom thing. She insisted on vegetables before cookies, and pulled a classic as she told her daughter that she'd 'time her to see how fast she could run home to get her swimsuit on'. (worked on me until i was like 10) In front of me sat homemade bowls of love. Strawberries, pasta salad, apple pie, watermelon...you get the picture. At which point, it occured to me. THIS IS BEAUTIFUL. From the precious sounds of gut-busting giggles of the kids running around, to the 'veteran moms' giving amy advice on how to handle this or that. This was how life was meant to be. Shared. Shared stories, shared food, shared responsibility, shared LIFE. So what if Jack tripped and dropped the cookies on his way up the driveway, so there was a little extra flavor! So what if one family was eating Chicken/Guta Cheese/Apple Brats (which were surprisingly tastey). It was beautiful.

I was over babysitting the daughters of some friends of mine the other day. They got home around 4, however I did not leave until about 10:30. They shared their dinner table with me. They shared their kids with me. They shared their hearts with me. They shared their time with me. They shared their LIFE with me.

I pray this continues in my life. I pray that the people I'm in relationship with would share life with me, and I with them. May we/I share the joys and the burdens of one another. Because it is there that I have rested in knowing that "it is well, with my soul" (which was a worship song sung tonight in which I was reminded of the beauty in simplicity)