I Spy With My Little Eye…
When I was a kid, I loved playing the game “I Spy”. It thrilled me to pick something that I thought I could see but my parents wouldn’t know what was “red and white”. They would play along and guess things that clearly weren’t as red and white as the tricycle sitting in the driveway, and then finally guess, “Is it that tricycle?!”.
“YES!” I would exclaim, all giggles.
What I’ve realized a handful of decades later is how much I’ve lost my ability to observe the world intently. I drive, walk, bike from place to place with so much on my mind, the radio news update in my ears or a phone up to my face that I now realize this fact:
I am not intentionally paying attention and listening to the places where God has placed me.
Place matters.
God has placed you in your neighborhood.
Definition of Neighborhood: the places in which you spend most of your time. Where you live, work, play or learn.
You aren’t there by accident. God has sent you to that place.
God’s invitation to you and to me is to open our eyes and see what God is doing around us. When we do that, we will begin to see the purpose and the intention behind why God has put us in the places we are in.
One of the best ways I know of to begin to intentionally pay attention to what God is doing in my neighborhood is to take a walk.
Yes, literally walk and LOOK! When you see things that catch your attention, offer whatever prayer comes into your heart and mind up to God.
- When you spy, with your little eye, something that seems broken – pray for God to bring restoration.
- When you spy something that is beautiful, praise God for God’s creation.
- When you spy something that is meaningful, pray for the people whose lives are impacted by what you see.
I have been encouraging everyone I know to join in what I call, “The Neighborhood Crawl”.
We are stepping with intention towards our neighborhoods this summer. We have simple steps we are all taking to do so!
STEP 1 – Get to know one new neighbor by name.
STEP 2 – Intentionally ask a neighbor about their story.
And then this week:
STEP 3 – Take a prayer walk around your neighborhood intentionally listening and looking for what God might be up to in the place he has put you.
There is a whole group of us participating!
Nathan met a neighbor and made dinner plans for the near future.
Nicole got to pray with a neighbor whose story included needing healing from a difficult medical situation.
Will you participate with us?
Here is what step three looked like for me as I prayed through my neighborhood this morning:
I saw the sidewalk that has been broken and prayed for God to heal the brokenness both physically, spiritually and emotionally in my neighborhood.
I saw my neighbor Clareyse’s garden and prayed for her and thanked God for giving her the skills to nurture these beautiful plants.
I saw one of many business vehicles. There are a lot of small business owners in my neighborhood by the looks of the trucks and vans filling the streets with their ads on the side. I prayed for these businesses to flourish, in Jesus name.
I saw the playground at St. Anthony Park and prayed for safety for the many kids who play here unsupervised all summer while school is out.
I saw this notice about a public meeting to discuss the possible reopening of an empty school building at the end of my street. I prayed for wisdom for the leaders and community members who will make this decision.
As you walk through your neighborhood, here are some questions my friends at The Missional Network have come up with to guide you in your walk:
Structures
- What kinds of residences are built?
- Why might my neighborhood have been built the way it was?
- How long ago was it developed?
Activity
- What work is being done in the neighborhood? Who is doing the work and why?
- How does communication take place? How do people talk to each other?
- What do the primary organizations and services tell me about the area?
- What three things would I do to improve my neighborhood?
People
- Do the original people still live/work here?
- If not where did they go? Why?
- Where are the differences and stress points in this community?
- Who are the people groups here?
- Where did they come from? How long have they been here?
- How is difference dealt with?
- Who is invisible? Why?
- Who are the individuals who connect and bridge in this community?
- Who do I know in the neighborhood?
- Why do I know these specific people? What makes them unique?
- What stories can I tell about them?
To follow along in THE NEIGHBORHOOD CRAWL download the map The Neighborhood Crawl