Come, then, Lord Jesus, Come

A man was shot last night in his house down the street. Let me correct that: One of our neighbors was shot in his home last night.

We don't know this man, but friends who live further down the street did, and the report is that he is still alive, and will likely recover.  According to this news report, the act was not random, but a dispute over a woman, and that the shooter has been arrested, and knew the victim.  We've lived here for 2 years and have seen this sort of thing happen around our neighborhood, and each time it is not random.

A friend who was over for dinner last night emailed me this morning because he'd seen the report, and wanted to know how we were doing, if we were shoken up by it.  This was my response to him:

This is the second shooting that has happened on our street specifically since we've lived here, and this summer in general feels like it's been a bad one for this type of violence.  I've learned that summer's always a tough season for this sort of thing.  My first reaction is always wanting to get as far away as possible from this type of violence, but then I think about it a little more and realize that the same sin lives in me, and then I just long for heaven.

It makes me ache when I'm forced to recognize that some of my neighbors live with this sort of violence as a way of life for them.  I start to get hopeless when I think about what it would take to pull them out of the cycle.  But then, it's a good opportunity to pray for more hope, more faith, and a fuller understanding of the free gift of salvation that Christ has given us.  And to realize that I was in a similarly hopeless cycle, even if it took on more socially-acceptable tones, and that Jesus saw fit to pull me from that and cover my sins with his Righteousness.  And that I need to have faith that he can do that for these people as well.

So, yes, I am shaken up.  Not for our personal safety, but for the glimpse into the cavern of my own lack of faith and hope.

There was another article in the Boston Globe this morning about how the residents of my street feel about this incident.  We haven't been here long enough to have seen all of the turnabout this street has fought hard to bring about, but we have enjoyed some of it's benefits, and I can feel the resident's frustration.  I'm thankful that the Globe article addressing this frustration, because otherwise people only hear about the violence and understandably make a generalization about my neighborhood, and my section of that neighborhood: they don't see the full picture of what happens here.

Most of my neighbors are professional, well-educated, law-abiding peaceful people who care about their community and specifically about each other.  I have felt cared-for and loved by my neighbors on this street in ways that most people only hope for.

Ms. Ida, the elderly grandmother who lives next door, often comes to chat when I'm working in the garden.  I have loaned her DVDs, and she has given me advice about which weeds I should pull lest they take over my garden.  She even asked my permission the other week to scold my children if she saw them doing something naughty.  I replied with a hearty "Yes, please!".

One night when our old Volvo wouldn't start and I need to move it out of the street for street cleaning, 3 men from 3 different households helped me push it into our across-the-street neighbor's driveway, where they generously let me keep it until the car donation service came to tow it 5 days later.  This same neighbor was the one who came to our door to remind me that the next day was street cleaning, and that I needed to move the car, to spare me the $150 tow and ticket.

In talking with one of the sweet teen-aged girls who lives across the street the other night, Chris realized she didn't know how to clip her dog's toenails.  I offered to show her how to do it, and clipped them for her.  I was so thankful that she allowed me to do this for her, and I think it's indicative of a larger attitude towards neighborliness that she is being taught in her home.

I could go on and on about our sweet neighbors and their small acts of kindness towards us, and their general friendliness, but suffice it to say that we love our neighbors.  We love our street, and we are so thankful that God has placed us here so that we could be challenged to deepen our faith in his redemptive work.

Come, then, Lord Jesus, Come.