Let’s Do This:

Each week, I have this inward battle: Do I choose something that requires little or no effort, or do I choose something that requires me to put a bit of work into it?

We humans are interesting and funny. We want good, even greatness, but we live in a culture that demands convenience and instant results over desired excellence. I often seek the easy way or even want to run from difficulties. Why??

A couple of years ago, we (interns Kiara and Kila at Hope House Montgomery) began a Neighbor Dinner. I got this idea from the Rutba House (Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove) in the Raleigh-Durham area. They hosted a weekly dinner and invited neighbors over for a collective meal. First, we invited our neighbor King over, and eventually, it became a thing. We take turns cooking and trying different recipes with our interns, and you know what? It became fun and created a sense of community.

Is it work? Yes! Each week, we scramble to get to the groceries and decide what to cook, tyring to consider everyone’s likes and dislikes. There have been times when we had to throw on an extra pan of macaroni and cheese to have enough. But I LOVE Neighbor Dinner. It’s a hodge-podge mix of people sitting around the table trying to creep or run into each other’s lives, and it’s working because we keep coming back.

We need this! When I Say “We”, I mean all of us, the world needs this.

It’s a challenge because we could take the easy way out by calling it off or deciding to wait until I might have time. But because I have practiced, I have become better at saying, let’s do it!

I invite you to try a Neighbor Dinner, even if it’s one neighbor. Even if it is macaroni and cheese dinner and rolls. Whatever you have will work. What kind of world would we have if we did this? A Hope-filled World, a world full of Crazy Love.

Let’s do it.