Austin City Life

THIS WAS WRITTEN BY AUSTIN CITY LIFER LACEY....

My family moved into the UT Student Apartments in October this past year. Soon after we moved in I noticed my neighbor across the way that took smoke breaks during the day.

I would try and avoid her at first.  My excuse being that I am a shy person who doesn’t just talk to people. Soon I realized that I had a wall up where God had given me a way to get to know my neighbor.

 

I began to talk to my neighbor, we became friends and started hanging out.  I learned that her family didn’t have a car so, I began taking her to the store so she wouldn’t have to ride the bus.  One day she told me they didn’t have enough money for groceries that week. 

 

I asked her if we could help and told her to give me a grocery list that I could send to my city group.  Three days later I was delivering bags of groceries to her, and gift cards.  She was relieved and happy.  Our City group came together so quickly and responded to bless someone they didn’t know.   

God has taught me so much through this friendship and my city groups response. I have always been the person who wasn’t really friends with people who aren’t Christians, especially when it comes to my kids. 

 

There was a sermon recently that stuck with me, it said the only difference between me and an unbeliever is that we have Christ.  I knew what that meant but, never lived it.  I am not better than my neighbor.  I have learned that in some areas of her life she does a much better job than me! She has taught me about being a good wife, a good mother and a better neighbor!

I encourage everyone to just let the wall down. Small talk is small at first but, can become so much more. You can be missional literally right where you live.