Through the Fence

On Monday, I was babysitting and playing in the back yard with the kids I live with. (I don’t know if I have mentioned that I live with a four year old girl, Dorothy; a three year old boy, Isaac; and a 20 month old boy, Mack; with a new baby on the way literally ANY DAY!) While we were playing, I heard a little voice behind me say “Dorothy.” I turned around to see a little black arm through the fence reaching out towards us playing in the yard. I went over and talked with Calvin and Christina who lived across the alley from us. I knew their older sister, Courtney who was part of our Bezalel afterschool program.

This interaction through the fence led into a spiral of thoughts that could only come from the movies. As a little black three year old hand wrapped around my fingers, I thought about our worlds that were so different yet in this moment were intertwined. I thought about the difference between our cultures and race. I thought about the beauty of this little girl. The first time I was in Africa I was asked if I loved black people. The question caught me off guard. I said that I loved all people. I still love all people, but people of African dissent have a very special place in my heart.

It wasn’t until I went to collage that I learned that Africans and African-Americans were so different. Growing up in an almost exclusively white Christian community, I didn’t know anything else. I am sometimes in awe of the things I have learned these past few years through the grace of God. He keeps on giving me opportunities to grow and to learn. For only being 21 year old from small town Iowa, I have seen and experienced a lot of things. So many of things I experienced, I would have never imagined, but God took my life and turned it upside down. Now, I am on an adventure of a life time following after my Lord and Savior.

Before moving to Detroit, there were a lot of people questioning if I should actually live in Detroit or just commute to work here. I really wanted to live in the community that I work in because I believe so strongly in relational ministry. I am so excited to be living across the alley from Courtney. I am excited for Bezalel to start and to be able to walk her home afterwards. I am excited for the next time she peeps through our fence because I will let her borrow one of my chapter books. I love biking around the neighborhood and getting stopped by different youth I know. When I walk pass the gas station, I often am able to say “hi” to someone I recognize. It is such a blessing to walk around the projects and stop to talk with somebody I know. The Lord has really been blessing my relationships with different people in the city. There are still so many more people I hope to meet in the neighborhood, but for now, I am satisfied with my relationships through the fence.