I am revisiting this Blog Series I did about a year and a half ago because I liked doing it.  I am not just re-posting, I am re-reading, revising, and hopefully – re learning how the LORD pursued me through other people.

When I first moved to STL I rented a little house, and it had a nice corner lot. As the Spring rolled around I let the grass get a bit long and was instructed by my landlord to mow it. So, I mowed, didn’t bag, and shot a lot of the grass into the street.

Across the street from me lived two older men – both retired, Dave and Dale. They came over.  They began firm, and then were gentle – I have no idea if I had anything to do with this, or if is just ‘how they are’. Dave and Dale explained that it was unacceptable to have grass in the street: ‘This is not how you mow, keep up your yard, or be a neighbor’. But, if I wanted to borrow Dave’s blower to put the grass back in my yard I was welcome to it. Dave was clear that he was not offering to move it for me (Dave was probably 70)! They seemed to figure out that I did not understand lawns and neighbors – either instinctively or through previous mentoring.

I remember being annoyed. I had better things to do, I was trying to build a youth ministry, etc. But, I also remember using his blower. Then, going over to borrow some clamps for a table I was making; then having a Nat Light with him in his yard one day (Dave drank Nat Light). I only lived there for about a year and a half, but I still see Dave’s old work van tooling around sometimes.

It was a good, light lesson – on being a man, taking care of one’s yard, listening to older men, and general neighborliness.