Wes and I had a conversation the other night while we were out walking. (Yes, we've become that middle aged couple who walks together three nights a week...good for the body AND the marriage.)
He was telling me about how a co-worker of his sent him a link to a house outside of L-ville in the country. Eight Acres. Four bedroom house. $178,000. Well, we aren't tempted. No, really we aren't. No even ready to THINK about moving to Louisville. The new-to-us commuter car is saving scads of gas money.
Besides, I've been walking these neighborhood streets for ten years with my "Lord Have Mercy"s and my prayer rope. Greeting the people. Shy, but trying to invest myself somewhat.
And I reminded him of old conversations. It's hard to be downwardly mobile when you start at the very bottom. And believe me, that's where we started. But, as the years go by things are a bit better...one can be intentionally non-upwardly mobile. That is what we embrace.
When we bought our house in this not-so-cool neighborhood, the realtor, by way of complimenting my husband, predicted we'd be moving up in two or three years. Young families start out in the Meadows, but no one wants to stay.
But we have this idea of just buying our house. Of just living here. It seems weird. Our Church is in another town, and work is in another town, but ages ago...back when we lived in Wilmore...I was running an errand to the north side of Lexington (there used to be a military surplus store on Louden Ave.) and felt this weird pull. One of those God-thing pulls. It was not until AFTER we bought our house that I realized we were two blocks from where I'd felt that pull.
And we intentionally wanted to move into a mixed neighborhood. It used to be black and white. Now it's black, white and brown, since NAFTA.
So what is it all for? Why am I here in this uncool neighborhood that is still not ghetto enough for us to count as being super radically downwardly mobile in the embrace of it? Embrace blue collar mediocrity for Jesus with your over-educated white collar selves? What's that? Is there some sort of ministry here?
There's still this longing, this God-thing tug to be HERE. I just don't know how that's gonna look beyond my walking around with my "Lord have Mercy"s.
He was telling me about how a co-worker of his sent him a link to a house outside of L-ville in the country. Eight Acres. Four bedroom house. $178,000. Well, we aren't tempted. No, really we aren't. No even ready to THINK about moving to Louisville. The new-to-us commuter car is saving scads of gas money.
Besides, I've been walking these neighborhood streets for ten years with my "Lord Have Mercy"s and my prayer rope. Greeting the people. Shy, but trying to invest myself somewhat.
And I reminded him of old conversations. It's hard to be downwardly mobile when you start at the very bottom. And believe me, that's where we started. But, as the years go by things are a bit better...one can be intentionally non-upwardly mobile. That is what we embrace.
When we bought our house in this not-so-cool neighborhood, the realtor, by way of complimenting my husband, predicted we'd be moving up in two or three years. Young families start out in the Meadows, but no one wants to stay.
But we have this idea of just buying our house. Of just living here. It seems weird. Our Church is in another town, and work is in another town, but ages ago...back when we lived in Wilmore...I was running an errand to the north side of Lexington (there used to be a military surplus store on Louden Ave.) and felt this weird pull. One of those God-thing pulls. It was not until AFTER we bought our house that I realized we were two blocks from where I'd felt that pull.
And we intentionally wanted to move into a mixed neighborhood. It used to be black and white. Now it's black, white and brown, since NAFTA.
So what is it all for? Why am I here in this uncool neighborhood that is still not ghetto enough for us to count as being super radically downwardly mobile in the embrace of it? Embrace blue collar mediocrity for Jesus with your over-educated white collar selves? What's that? Is there some sort of ministry here?
There's still this longing, this God-thing tug to be HERE. I just don't know how that's gonna look beyond my walking around with my "Lord have Mercy"s.
Comments
Now that we've been here 7 years I feel increasingly connected, and keep seeing opportunities to make a difference, even if small ones.
I think many of us want to experience a sense of significance where we are in life, rather than just keeping up with the Joneses and getting the newest toys. I don't have any desire to "move up."