I originally penned these words six years ago three months after the fire that destroyed over 500 homes in the Black Forest where we live.
With the holidays upon us and the celebrations they bring, (and with Halloween falling on a Thursday this year), it seemed appropriate to share with you this idea again.
 |
| Wish you could have joined us. The food was delicious. |
Two neighbors lost their homes in the Black Forest fire. The desire to love well in the midst of this horrendous context was real. But how?
Initiate toward them?
Cry with them?
Offer help?
Throw a Halloween shower in their honor. YES!!!
Charlotte* loved Halloween. It was her favorite holiday and every year she hosted an elaborate bash for her daughters and their friends. Now all the scary decor was ash … swept away in the clean-up … gone … history.
The proverbial light bulb shown brightly. Gather the neighbors and her circle of friends and host a Halloween shower. No costumes, just food, friends, and new Halloween decor for Charlotte.
“That is the loveliest thing anyone has ever done for me”, she responded the morning I phoned to ask if she would be comfortable with the idea.
We planned, invited, prepared. It was fun. It was a huge success.
The night of the shower, I fell asleep with my mouth curved in a smile.
“Love is … kind …” I Corinthians 13:4.
Mark 4:26-29 comes to mind, four short verses. The parable compares a man scattering seed. Life goes on and the seed sprouts and grows to maturity; there is a harvest. But four seemingly unimportant words jump out, “he knows not how”.
My dreams would not lead me down this path … forest fire … Halloween shower … deepening friendship with a neighbor. I wonder, where will it go from here?
In the Mark passage the seed progresses:
scatters,
sprouts,
grows,
ripens,
harvest.
On my street, my seed is somewhere between scatters and sprouts. I’m praying for growth, ripening, and harvest. I wonder what it will look like. (2019 update — No harvest yet. Now we’re between sprouts and grows.)
What about you … what ideas can you share about planting seeds among neighbors. This October I worked on fertilizing and watering.
Happy Halloween!
“He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows;
he knows not how.”
Mark 4:27