With A Little Help from God

How are you doing with neighboring? The summer is here, which brings us many opportunities to connect with those around us and show them the love of Jesus. I hope you are finding ways to take advantage of them. I have to confess, I am not a naturally out-going person, so neighboring comes hard with me. One of the amazing things about doing God's work, however, is that once you open yourself up to his ministry, he will often find ways to overcome your own limitations. One of my limitations is my workload--with convention coming up and three kids to raise, I have had a difficult time sparing enough energy to plan for neighboring. Casey and I had talked about throwing a block party for our neighborhood sometime "after convention." Well, our small group got together at our house over memorial day, and Casey invited one of our neighbors to come. He didn't end up being able to join us, but he did stop by long enough to ask us if we were interested in helping to through a block party! My busyness was an obstacle for me, but not for God!
Another obstacle of mine is the fact that I'm an introvert. I don't find it easy to approach strangers. My son James, on the other hand, is VERY outgoing and loves to make new friends. I have been trying not to stifle that in him, so when James wants to make friends with other families I reluctantly go along with him. So far James has scheduled two different playdates with other families! My introversion is a problem for me, but not for God.
Now, I don't want to give you the wrong impression. I'm not saying that God will do all the hard work for you, and I'm not claiming that going along with our neighbors' and my son's ideas is enough to count myself  a good neighbor--I have a lot of work to do, and I need to become better at acting on God's instructions. What I am saying is that God does not just give us a command and then stand over us, arms crossed, watching us struggle on our own. When we agree to be part of God's plan, he works with us, in us, through us, and around us to make his plan happen. Maybe God just knows I need a little help. But I promise you that if you start acting on God's prompting, if you do what you can to love your neighbors, God will work with what you give him to make you into a more faithful more productive servant in his kingdom. That's my prayer for myself, and for you. God bless!