there is a richness about time stayed in one place. it seems that it is a richness being lost as our world continues to learn how to move forward, faster and faster so it seems.
still there are pockets of these rich places. you know them when you find them i think. it’s almost as if times stands still, or beauty is more evident because there is space to see it, and people and things almost jump out at you asking you to see and enjoy them.
the house i grew up in was built in the early 1920s. it’s had just a few owners in its 90 plus years of existence. my family has been in the house almost 30 years. the neighbors next door boast of over 40 years in their house.
the houses on this street are full of people who have stayed in one place for a lengthy bit of time. it might not seem that great to some who haven’t experienced it’s richness but let me give you a brief and unjust glimpse of my reminder of richness tonight.
it was a certain set of neighbors that caught my attention tonight. they often do as they are outside and visible they continue to work the land and look after what is theirs with the greatest of care. Often we share dinner time across backyards on back porches on cool late summer nights.
they teach me so much just by the way they live. he is 87, and has spent the last days re-painting his chain link fence that runs between our yard and theirs. he seems to gain life as he fingers the dirt and leaves and iris and roses. He treats each created thing as if it is a precious gem. His tender care reminds me of the care the Creator would give that which He created.
she has been a steady presence by his side. her physical body isn’t well, but tonight she asked for another ear of corn to be cooked on the grill because the first one tasted so good. they watch the life around them and get excited about what new bloom has appeared, or the bird that sits at the bird feeder. she asked him to ‘make it stop’ when a hawk flew into the yard to try to get a smaller bird just this very evening.
we watch from our deck as they ready their table and sit down, hold each others hands and bow their heads to stop and thank God for his provision, say amen and then blow each other a kiss. we watch as our dog makes his way from our yard to theirs, runs to their sides and begins to beg for their dinner. he then proudly returns with a corn cob to show off as his prize.
there is the exchange of excess summer muss melon, or too many blue berry muffins, in knowing your neighbors not much goes to waste.
all these things are richer, because not only our these dear ones our neighbors, but because of time and relationship and life shared alongside each other they have become family. it’s part of the richness of staying in one place, and others around you staying in one place too. it allows time to develop life together, if you’re willing for it to happen. i think that this home is home not just because of the house structure itself, but because of the adopted grandparents next door, and aunts and uncles across the street, who have added a deep richness to my life.
i am a better person because of them.
