My Friend's House

I don’t know if you like to “people watch”, but I do. I like to observe body language and listen to people’s concerns or interests. I have been making many observations since the beginning of 2023. With the working from home and then to being unemployed, I had the opportunity to see a new perspective.

Some of what I have observed were the lasting effects of the COVID on people’s everyday interactions with others. Even after people returning to work and being out in public, there was still a hesitation to enter into in-person community; and yet, there was a huge hunger for interaction at the same time. People were looking for community, but in different ways. I learned that many are still working from home, at least part-time. This seemed to have caused a desire to meet with other people…just to talk…”in human”, not on the phone, not a text, and definitely not through another “ZOOM” meeting!

I also noticed some things on social media increase. People on chat groups were praising people for doing the right thing, but not in person. They would say something like, “To the guy at Freddies that returned my wallet, “Thank you”. I didn’t see you but thank you for doing the right thing. You have restored my faith in humanity!” Or sometimes I would see people post “We have fallen on bad times. I am a mother of three, just lost my job and since my husband’s recent death, we just can’t make ends meet. Does anyone have some bottles I can take off your hands for cash in for food money?” Though it was good to hear someone praise another or to see someone making their desperation known, it broke my heart. These were being posted to a cyber community. No touch, no seeing of facial expression, no hearing of the inflection of excitement or distress in the voice. (Even as I type this, I am thinking is this the “new normal”? Everything online?)

Then, I stumbled on to some thought-provoking videos and books that were addressing the same thing I was trying to address. I was trying to address loneliness. I wanted to get people in the local church to open their eyes and see the huge need all around them that they could solve. What I was learning was that we need to incorporate ways to do life in person. It was going to have to be intentional, maybe even inconvenient. Whatever the cost, the rewards would be far greater than the sacrifice.

“Instead of running to the store for that missing ingredient you needed for you recipe, go knock on the door of a neighbor and ask to borrow that ‘cup of sugar’ or whatever you needed.” When I heard that, my response was “Really? That simple?” And then I read somewhere that we need to remember that the “sharing the gospel was usually a process” and not a wide-open opportunity that comes to your door.

Being intentional about being relationally sharing the gospel would look more like, “Hey! You wanna run errands with me? I’d love the company.” Or how about “I’m really trying to get in the habit of walking. Would you want to walk with me and make sure I really start?” The latest one we tried was, “Oh good, you’re home! We could use your muscles to help us move our Treager.”

If you are a committed follower of Jesus, you and I know that we are commanded to go, to share the good news with others. Giving information is not relational. In person togetherness is relational. It’s going to take us holding back the tide of “all things internet” and making an effort. If this interests you, if you would like me to address some of the barriers you run into in this area, please go to the WELCOME page by clicking above on WELCOME. Scroll down and take the poll.

If you live in Clackamas County, and you desire to meet with me on this subject, please email me at myfriendshouse686@gmail.com. I hope to be putting a team together soon and would love to connect with you!

Robin Keating