Lessons from the Porch (or stoop)
It’s springtime in the South and we have some things moving and shaking, shaking off the winter over here. Most exciting, we are finally building a front porch! It’s funny, when we first moved to Atlanta and Mike set out to find us a place to call home, I gave him my one requirement…just one. I didn’t care if it was a newer home with two levels, if it had carpet or hardwood, I didn’t even care if it had AC (and that says a LOT in Hotlanta). All I wanted was a front porch. I mean, we were moving to the South. How was I supposed to figure out this whole Southern-Belle-grace-charm-and-hospitality thing without a front porch to practice on? That was my one and only request.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, after Mike looked at over one hundred houses in a matter of a couple months, the house that God seemed to hand to us a week before our wedding had NO FRONT PORCH! Not only did it not have a porch, it had a green, cock-eyed front stoop. Now, having lived in Chicago, I love a good stoop. But this one was precariously placed off-centered and to the left of the front door which resulted in a foot and a half of open space under the door. So, if you miss-stepped (meaning you stepped straight out of the door), you would fall boobee-trap style three feet down into our bushes. So much for Southern hospitality.
In all honesty, I am so thankful that I am married to a man who follows the Lord and is obedient to His leading because, although I did not get my dream front porch, I do believe God lead us here intentionally. We quickly fell in love with our home and the Lakewood Heights community, and now have a hard time imagining ourselves in any other neighborhood in Atlanta.
When we stood in our front yard last Wednesday morning and watched sledgehammers tear away at our little cock-eyed stoop, we both got a bit emotional. For the last two years, that stoop has been a special place for us, sacred ground almost. It’s been a place for dreaming about the future, saying hello to neighbors, getting a breath of air when the baby was crying, long talks with friends, and a quiet place under the stars.
Not only that but, the stoop has also been a symbol to our neighborhood that we are not perfect and never will be, not even our house. As ‘transplants’ to the community, I believe this message was one we needed to make clear, in every way possible. We do believe God has called us to live in areas that are often overlooked by our society - not because we have it all together or are ready to ‘fix’ anything, but to better recognize our own brokenness. Surprisingly, we have learned that as we identify our own personal “off-centered stoops” in our hearts and receive the Grace to accept our imperfections, the more open our hearts become to others. Just as our little stoop has allowed our neighbors to see us a little more for who we are.
Which leads us to the real thing now, the big-ol’ 8’ x 20’ porch being built in front of our house as we speak. Now that we’ve had a couple years of building relationships on that sweet little stoop, we’ve decided it’s time to have a place to sit and gather round a table in the light of the setting sun, for meals and games and talks with kids, family and friends. So with this new addition, I thought I’d jump back on the wagon of blog-writing and get our little cyber-porch back in full gear with what’s going on in our lives and where our hearts are finding most joy and fulfillment these days. Stay tuned, I’ve got more thoughts to share and maybe even a picture or two of the porch when it’s finally done!
Won’t You Be Our Neighbor?
