Sitting on the stoop...

When I was younger I would watch all kinds of movies where I saw people sitting outside on the front porch in a yard char, on the steps, and even in a rocking chair by the window...just sitting. I always wondered, what are they looking at? Are they watching cars pass by? Waiting on the pizza man? A package delivery? Are they thinking? Are they bored?

It never made much sense to me until a few weeks ago. Saturdays are our neighborhood days, which means we spend intentional and valuable time in our neighborhood whether we're picking up trash or just kickin it with a neighbor. I had nothing planned, so I decided to sit out on the steps of my apartment and surprisingly I discovered a lot!

#1: Kids play outside! I can't tell you how many times I've heard the older generation say that the young generation doesn't' play outside anymore. All we do is sit in front of a computer screen all day. Granted, a lot of youth may fulfill that stereotype, but the kids on my block take walks, throw footballs, play basketball, make up creative games, and even sit on the steps with neighbors and talk.

#2: Everyone speaks to everyone! Out of the dozens of people who passed by me on the steps that day, only a couple of people didn't acknowledge my presence with a "hey, how are you?" Even strangers passing by in their car exchanged a friendly smile and wave.

#3: With open eyes, there is more to see! An outside walking down my block will probably notice that the streets are filled with litter, there's an abandoned building across the street from my place, a handful of houses are given little to no maintenance, and small children can be found walking up and down the block without any supervision. Stick around for a little bit and you begin to see the beauty beyond what your eyes can see. Even though there's litter covering the streets, just a couple of weeks earlier the community rallied together and spent their Saturday cleaning it up. Although the building across the street has been abandoned for a number of years, the boards put up by the city were decorated by members of the community with different passages of scripture. Some of these house may not be kept up in the best shape, but the same people living in them are the greatest assets to the neighborhood, bring the neighborhood together through sports and music. Stick around just a little while longer and you'll see how the older kids on the block are always looking out for the younger kids.

The beauty in just "sitting on the stoop" is that my world paused for just a moment and suddenly saw my block through new lenses. Societal pressure tells us that we are always supposed to be doing something; keeping ourselves busy and entertained, but in doing so what are we missing?

I encourage you to take a moment to "sit on the stoop" and see what you discover! Sitting on the stoop doesn't have to mean literally sitting on the stoop but taking time away from time and stopping to smell the roses.