The past few years have been weird. Social distancing, communicating and socializing on screens, virtual everything, staying home. The introvert in me has savored parts of it, while the Enneagram 2 wing in me has struggled with how to love others when we are all far apart. While things are still weird, I believe it’s more important than ever to love each other: to love our neighbors, friends, family, even strangers. We see videos and stories and posts about people not loving each other everywhere we look, but that doesn’t have to be the norm or how we live. Loving Our Neighbors doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are a few simples ways we can love the people around us.
Loving Our Neighbors
Snail Mail
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like getting a letter or package in the mail. It’s a simple, low commitment gesture. Who is someone you have been meaning to connect with? Is there someone you have lost touch with the past two years? Snail mail is a simple way to show someone you are thinking of them in a tangible way.
Text
Maybe sitting down to write a letter isn’t your thing. Send a ‘thinking of you’ text or type a prayer to a friend, neighbor, or someone you want to encourage. It’s a simple, but mighty thing. Instead of commenting or liking a post on social media, send an individual text instead. Our words our powerful, so let’s use them to speak life, even through something as simple as a text.
Dinner invitation
There is something special and sacred about being together around the table. Invite friends or a family down the street to dinner. If making dinner for other people besides your people stresses you out, order pizza and play board games or meet at a local restaurant. Loving each other doesn’t have to be fancy.
Make a call
Telephone calls are not dead. When we can’t be together, an old fashioned call or Facetime session can be life giving. We can let the ones we love know we love them through chatting and listening for 15 minutes. Who can you call today to love on?
Take over soup
Kendra Adachi, aka The Lazy Genius, discussed soup in one of her recent podcasts. When you make soup, she suggested making extra and gifting it to a neighbor or friend. She lives up to her name because this is genius. Many of us are in the dead of winter and making and eating soup is the essence of comfort. We can pass along some of that comfort by gifting soup. It’s easy enough to double a batch, throw it in some mason jars, and take down the street to someone, anyone, on a random Tuesday night.
An unexpected gift
Sometimes we want to make someone feel extra special. There is no birthday, anniversary, or baby to celebrate. Sometimes I think that’s the best time to send a gift, when it’s least expected. The surprise is gift enough. A local candle. A bouquet of fresh flowers. A care package with all the fixings for chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa. Is there someone in your life who could use a little sunshine with an unexpected gift?
Loving our neighbors doesn’t have to fussy or complicated, but it does require intentionality and effort. And I think it’s safe to say we were put on this earth, together, for the title of this post: Loving Our Neighbors.
Jesus makes it pretty clear in Matthew 22:36-40.
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
How can you love your neighbor today?