so try and picture this--our driveway runs alongside the house next door to us. and there's a window in that house (funnily enough, i think it's their bathroom window) that our neighbor frequently talks to me from.

our neighbor is phil. from what we've learned from the other neighbors, phil sells drugs. we have no reason to doubt this is true b/c there has been a definite increase in foot traffic since phil moved in next door. but maybe it's just the way we label people. b/c i find myself labeling all of the people in our neighborhood.

~miss jones, across the street, is the single mom with five kids.
~derricka, across the street and over two has a masters in education, but only then did i find her more interesting.
~the people that moved into the back apartment of the house next-door are new orleans evacuees...

this list i use to mentally compartmentalize all of the people we come in contact with; to associate them with their craft.. i have to learn to stop judging people in this way. i need to learn to continually love them.

phil does not fit the stereotype that i hold of drug dealers, which goes to show how naive i am of the underworld. he is always very friendly and open. he suggested that we put together a gift basket for the couple that just moved into the back apartment, the ones from new orleans. he thought it might be a nice gesture. two nights ago, he had a leaf blower and blew our driveway and patio and deck clear from all of the leaves that had accumulated. he did this without being asked.

but this morning jason left approximately ten minutes before i did. when i was getting in my car, phil called to me from the window. i said good morning and thanked him for blowing our driveway clear. we chatted a bit longer and then i left for work. yet, i could not ignore the nagging suspicion that he was watching our schedules. jason left and then me. he's at home all day, we're not.

it's wrong that i am judging this guy from my own suspicions and not from his actions. if i can't get past this, then it's no use--us living incarnationally. if i can't quit judging people by their actions and skills, then what are we really doing? at the urban missions conference in june, someone told me that living incarnationally is a lot more than where you live.

i need to practice that.

posted by Kelly @ 1:31:00 PM