A change is in order...

I have lived in this house for...Dale, how long have we lived here? Since 1999? That long? Okay, we've lived here for over 20 years and in that time we have pretty much always been backdoor kind of people. Everyone always entered through the carport...kids, friends, UPS deliveries. But recently, I had cause to question what we've done for over 20 years.

It all started with a sweet family moving in across the street. We'll call them the "J's" for their privacy and because we all know I'm lousy with names. They came across the street and to our front door - well, that makes sense. We have a walkway to the door, a wreath on the door, and it is the front door. Of course, I went around and invited them in through the carport door. A few days later, they came again to the front door. I reminded them we usually use the carport door and we laughed. Then a few days later, "Mom" came and this time she came to the carport door. Success!

I looked around my kitchen - of course, there were dishes in the sink and a couple of pans on the stove. Not a big problem, but it all got me thinking. Why don't we use the front door?

So, I went and had a look at our front door. My goodness, the front porch and walkway needed a good sweeping and there were some cobwebs in the corner that needed to come down. I took care of that in short order only to notice that the bushes next to the front door had certainly gotten out of hand; those had to be cut back! So I started cutting and it quickly became evident that at least one of those bushes needed to be removed. In case you wonder, azaleas are NOT easy to remove!

This idea was swiftly becoming more difficult than I had anticipated. I dug out that azalea and planted a pot of pretty little flowers to place near the door. It's still a long way from where I want it, but it is starting to look more welcoming. Still, it needed one more thing. Something that said people were welcome at my FRONT door. So, I made one of those "Welcome" boards from an old scrap we had leftover from a project.

But why all this work? Why not just do things like I've always done them?

Because something has changed. I started looking at things in a new way. And I had a reason to change. Two precious little girls now live across the street from "Ms Donna" and I want them to always feel free to visit. I don't want them to have to leave sight of their own front porch in order to come to my door. I want them to feel "safe" to approach.

All this got me thinking; the world is changing and maybe we need to make some changes to deal with it all. Maybe it's time to look at what we've always done and see if it allows others to freely approach us. It's time to clear away old ideas or habits that shut us off from those who don't really know us so that they can get to know us!

There has never been a time when we were more in need of "opening our doors" to conversation and getting to know each other. My prayer is that I can let go of old habits and approach the need with open hands and a welcome. I want my countenance to be filled with peace and calm, free of debris and cobwebs of misconceptions. What people will find "inside" hasn't changed, but at least now it's a lot more welcoming and there's a chance that friendships will develop along the way.

And it all started with a visit from a new neighbor...make that a new friend.