We live in a small town in Minnesota called Anoka. It started out as a a lumbertown with two rivers on either of it’s boundaries. As we were searching for a home closer to my daughter and her family (which I guess is what you do so they can keep watch over us,) we finally came upon a little farm house planted right in the middle of town, next to the freeway, close to shopping, church and family, convenient to everything we do, quiet neighbors and charmingly redecorated to fit the actual time of its construction in 1875. As I think about this little treasure I can see that God has definitely blessed us.

The noise of the freeway has recently become louder because of an upcoming construction endeavor. A few of the homes have undergone renovation – some are vacant – there are a few rental properties. Recently one of those rentals has become somewhat of a nuisance. There’s lots of coming and going at night. I sometimes feel like we’re recreating the movie, “Rear Window.” An Amazon truck parks in front of a neighbor’s house and we speculate as to what they’re purchasing online. A medical care facilitator visits a shut in and we are concerned for that neighbor’s health. One has lost her father to COVID19 and we pray for her. A few cars show up at night with deep bass beat accompanied by the voice of a monotonous rapper -pounding loudly – enough to rattle this old house. A train whistles by a few blocks away and shakes the same building. Our floors are uneven, but so are we. We truly love our house and hope that we can spend our remaining days living in it.

When we lived in the bustling city of Mnneapolis, we were also in a nice neighborhood, just across the river from the now riot producing, protesting, gunslinging and terrified families dwell. Living in the perfect neighborhood is getting harder and harder to achieve. Unless you live on a deserted island, you may never know perfection and even that might be a huge challenge.

Wherever you choose to live, there will be issues. Our Minneapolis home had a neighbor next door from us who was dealing drugs. We watched diligently as folks would come and go throughout the night. Their visits lasted only a minute or two and resulted in them returning to their cars with a bag of something. Eventually they were busted by the police. We now live across the street from a house that stirs memories of that same kind of activity. Do we call the police? If we do, will their be repercussions? You can’t be sure today. Do we learn to live with it? Do we yell, “Get out of my neighborhood? or Get off my lawn?” Do we approach them directly and face the possibility of getting shot. These are things we’ve been thinking about lately, but I sure hate to think about moving again.

I pray that God will continue to bless our time in this old house and give us the stamina to be here a long time. We’ve even thought about installing a chair lift so we can make it up and down the stairs through our aging. The only problem is those frequent potty trips during the night. My husband has come up with a solution and has thought of inventing one with a built-in porta-potty.

So as we begin adding color with flowers and beautiful plants, we can see more beauty appearing daily. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for any suspicious activity and trust in the Lord always.

PSALM 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.”