Today was one of those banner days. The kind where the sun shines and the skies are blue, and kiddos (mostly) behave themselves, and the neighbors show up in droves. We play kickball and I smile at the teams, a mixture of new neighborhood friends, counselors from camp, and kids we have known since before they were born. The little kids watch littler siblings, teenage boys gather in clumps, and couple friends come from across the street and from forty-five minutes away. Mentors and friends and communities and neighbors and the Body of Christ come alive in a messy, beautiful way that defies explanation. Where we eat hot dogs topped with Varsity-style chili, share roasted marshmallows and melty chocolate drips down cheeks. The boys throw footballs in the street, while the kids gather pebbles in buckets and chase each other around the yard. Caden follows "his friend Jay" across the playground, and Dee-Dee clasps hands with Jayci while grinning wide to show me how she lost a tooth, even though she has never heard of the tooth fairy.
It is loud and chaotic and I don't barely have time for sitting, but I peek through my lens to see
and attune my ears to hear. Because the Kingdom of God, it moves in this place; and if we listen closely enough, we will hear it.
