I'm pretty comfortable with who I am, but that hasn't always been the case. I used to be a bit timid about opening up about my lifestyle at work and to people that knew me from childhood and/or young adult life. I was afraid that they wouldn't want to associate with me any more or that they'd look at me differently if I expressed my true feelings.
Now that I'm a bit more mature and grounded, I've shed a great deal of that trepidation. I'm much more open at work, on social media, and with the public in general. I've got t-shirts, car adornment, and I've even walked a few parades - loud and proud!
If you haven't guessed by now, I'm a Jesus Freak. I love Jesus; I love God; I love the Holy Spirit! Hallelujah!!!
I'm not blind, though. I get it; some people aren't about that life. My relationship with Jesus makes some uncomfortable. Some people view my yearning to follow Christ as a mental disorder. I won't even get into the Christianaphobs - those who seem to classify us all in one group and live in generalization land. But I digress... This post is about our neighbors, not our haters.
The house next door was on the market for quite a bit of time. (By "quite a bit of time" I mean a long time to my husband; I myself am oblivious) It seems like someone was constantly over there working on the house, getting it ready for the new owner to move in. Last week my husband mentioned that she (the new neighbor) has indeed moved in. I figured I would wait until I bumped into her in the driveway to introduce myself, as that's how it's happened in the past. God, apparently, had other plans.
Yesterday, I was standing in the back door, watching little guy walk to school. as I do every week day, when he neared the spot directly across the parking lot from where I stood on the deck, I whistled to him, he waved, and I waved back (this is to let any creepers know that momma hen is always watching). As I turned to go back inside, I heard a guy yell "Hey! What you think about that Clippers thing?" I raised my head and saw a woman, a man (the one who'd yelled), and a small child on the deck of the house next door. Now, because I'm a highly intuitive engineer, I surmised that the woman must be our neighbor. Caught off guard, and a natural born motor mouth, I accepted the invitation to rant about the hilarity of Mr. Sterling's comments. As conversation continued, I introduced myself and the neighbor and I talked about our children. She, too, had a child at the elementary school, in addition to the cutie by her side. Finally, we wrapped it up and promised to chat again at a more convenient hour.
I tend to over analyze things, so as I prepared to start working the wheels began churning about the conversation I'd just had. Did I rant too enthusiastically? Did they feel compelled to yell at me because I hadn't gone over there first? Should I make brownies? What do people make any way? Was that her husband, baby-daddy, friend? Did he ask me about the Clippers because I'm black? Did they notice my blue hair? How soon is too soon to invite them to church? Should I tell them that I'm a Jesus freak up front? WWJD???
So as you can see, I'm a bit perplexed about when exactly I should "come out" to them (and about the brownies). What would you guys do? Do I drop a subliminal - verse inscribed in a welcome card? Do I go back over with the whole fam and invite them to church? Do I just ease it in gradually and see if they notice? What do you think? When did you come out to the neighbors?
