You know in all of my time of living in Reno County, I don't believe I ever had a "back alley" neighbor. A person would think that after 56 years of being around that somehow it would have happened before, but it didn't. And friends, if you have to ask what a "back alley" neighbor is, then you haven't had one either. Don't feel bad if you have to ask...I didn't know myself until last night.
I was out mowing in the back yard last evening when I noticed an elderly lady from across the alleyway, coming out of her own back yard and walking towards me. I shut the mower off and walked over to see who she was and if she needed some help.
Turns out she lived in one of the houses across the alley and she wanted to meet me. We exchanged hellos, introductions, and a hearty handshake with one another. Her name was Jean and she had lived in Valley Center for many years now. We talked a while and she showed me the strip of grass that was mine to cut in the alley. And then she showed me something else.
It was a strip of ground, bordered by cement edging that put me in mind of what the curbing looked like when I crashed my bike last August. The whole patch didn't measure much more than a couple of feet across by about 12 feet long. It was covered with old grass and weeds and the soil appeared as though it hadn't seen the "sharp edge of a shovel" for many long years.
"Now you don't have to mow this one off. It's someone's old flower bed and the lady who did it is long gone. It's been neglected now for about 10 years. Used to be so pretty, the way she fixed it up. I always loved to look at her flowers", Jean explained.
I looked at that former "flower bed" and figured out pretty quickly that it would need more than TLC to bring it back to life....it would need a horticultural miracle of sorts. Soon Jean and I finished visiting and said good night to one another. As I watched her walking back to her house I realized that I had now met person #.......uhm, I don't know what number she is. I think that means I no longer have to count them and that's a good thing, right?
All day long, I thought about what she had said. I remembered the look in her eyes and on her face as she described the once beauty of that little spot. I knew that she would be really glad if someone would just take the spot over once again. The longer I thought about it, the more I knew what I had to do....Bucket List Item #6 was there for a reason...and this would probably be the first of many. I had to do it~it was time to start making a difference in Valley Center.
Now many of you, no let me say that a different way....ALL of you reading this blog post have made a difference in the communities that you live in. Maybe you've been a Sunday School teacher, a volunteer crossing guard at your child's elementary school, or donated blood any time that the Red Cross had a blood drive. Chances are that some of you have painted a total stranger's house, donated food to the local food bank, or bought a meal for someone on the corner who really needed to eat but had no money to buy food with. The list goes on and on of the things that people do to help others and make a difference in their communities. And the really great thing is this~they do it because they know it's the right thing to do AND they do it every single day. YOU ARE ONE OF THEM!
Friends, I used to think that the only way to make a difference, a real difference, in the life of someone else would always have to involve money, an elaborate plan, and an army of volunteers to carry it out. I'm thinking pretty sure that I have forgone lots of wonderful opportunities to help out simply because I didn't think that any thing I did alone could really be of that much importance. I was sure wrong about that!
Late this afternoon, armed with only a shovel, I headed out the back gate and towards the spot in the alley. This is what it looked like before I started tearing into it....
Kind of strange, I had no plans at all to plant zinnias this year. I was going to take a break from that kind of stuff this summer. I didn't want to mess with the responsibilities. But gotta tell you, if you are looking to plant flowers that thrive on little care and moisture, then zinnias are your best bet. Now I can't wait to get the seed into the ground and see what happens.
As I was digging up the ground this evening, Jean came over again from her back yard. I told her what I was doing and that I'd be trying to get some zinnias growing in there. I promised her that by late June and clear through out the rest of the summer, she'd be "treated" to a brilliant display of color. She had a nice smile on her face as she thanked me for doing it.
We talked a little more. She wanted to know, what everyone else on earth wants to know about me, why did I come to Valley Center? I told her that even I wasn't exactly sure but I just felt that it was the place where I should come to meditate on what I'd like to do with the rest of my life. I jokingly said to her, "I'm 56 years old Jean. You'd think that I'd know what to do with my life!" She responded back to me..."Hey, I'm 84 and I STILL don't know!" And with that we both laughed hard enough to bring tears to my eyes and we said "good night" to one another.
Day is done...Soon bedtime for old people like me! I have had a good day, filled with a lot of fun and surprises. When I lay my head on the pillow this night it will be here in Valley Center, Kansas. For the folks that I've already met, I give thanks. I anxiously wait to meet even more people and make new friends. For whatever reason God has brought me here, I stand by my belief that it was a part of "the plan." All I can say is that it must be for something really, extraordinarily special. I'll let you know as soon as I do! :)
By the way, will my planting those flowers in that abandoned and neglected flower bed make a difference to the whole town of Valley Center? Nah, probably not. But they WILL make a difference to one person......my new friend, Jean.
good night!
No comments:
Post a Comment