From Weed to… Weeds.

September 18, 2012 8 comments Uncategorized

From Weed to… Weeds.

Sometimes it seems like a story has come to a conclusion. And it’s then that you realize it has just begun!

My last post told the story of a “grow house” drug operation that was busted right next door to my house a few months ago. When the drug dealers were arrested, we figured it was the end of the story.

We had prayed that God’s kingdom would come on our street and in this situation and a dangerous drug ring was shut down. But what I’ve found is, when you begin to pray bold prayers, God does more than you asked for.

Weed was no longer being grown inside the house but perhaps you can imagine how quickly the unattended yard began to grow. The weeds growing outside weren’t illegal, but they were waist high!

We named the yard “The Northeast Prairie”.

It turned out the man who was running the drug operation didn’t own the house as he had let on, but a man I’ll call Marcus did.

My first encounter with Marcus included a plethora of curse words coming from his mouth and general frustration with his life. He shared that he had no idea that the house he was renting out was being used as a grow house and that the inside had been destroyed. Without slowing his pace, he told me that he was going through a pretty painful divorce and was going to move into the former crime scene.

Right next door to us.

Jesus words fill my mind again, love your neighbor but also love your enemy. I’m not sure if I can trust this guy after the experience we have just had. But either way, God has called us to love our neighbors.

We began to pray for opportunities to connect with him and let God’s love somehow seep into his brokenness.

The next day, I almost literally ran into him out in front of our houses and we had great conversation about living in the city.

Then, the other night as I was struggling to assemble a screen to watch the movie The Sandlot with my neighbors, Marcus came out into his yard. (The yard formally known as the Northeast Prairie).

We stood in our backyards and he told me about his kids. With pain in his eyes he expressed how hard it is not to see them every day since the divorce.

“I’d love to meet your kids sometime when they are staying with you on the weekends.” I said.

“That would be great, it really would.” Marcus responded as he went back inside.

A few minutes later, I lost the battle against the screen and realized I wasn’t strong enough to finish the job.

I went over to Marcus’ house and asked, “Can you help me? I’m not strong enough to finish putting together this screen.”

“Of course!” he said and with his help is was no problem. “I’m a contractor, you know, so if you every need anything, you just let me know.”

“Thanks Marcus, that really means a lot to me, I will let you know!” I responded.

And I meant it… I often need help.

In unexpected ways, the Kingdom continues to come on Adams Street, and God has now given us somebody to love. I think this is just the beginning of this story!