Story Time: Spiritual Partners

One of my biggest prayers over the last few weeks has been that God would provide spiritual partners in our neighborhood who could partner with us for the sake of showing Christ's love on our block. This block needs a lot of love. Some of our neighbors have given us a little glimpse into the history of this neighborhood and even our home, and they insist that this neighborhood is SO much better than what it was 20-30 years ago. Part of why I believe this is true is because of prayer warriors like our neighbor, Diane.

We met Diane through a mutual friend who is on staff at a church in Long Beach. When we told our mutual friend where we were moving, she quickly told us, "You have to meet Diane. She is an incredible woman who loves Jesus and has been in that neighborhood for over 25 years."

Shortly after, our paths finally crossed as Diane was walking her dog, Sassy. She had a huge smile on her face -- I will never forget it. We chatted. Hugged. And immediately I knew -- this woman was special.

In the coming weeks, we invited Diane to our home for lunch where we shared stories and good food. In such a short amount of time, I felt like this woman was a kindred spirit -- someone I've known for years. Her love for the Lord was so evident in the ways she spoke about her story and her commitment to praying for and loving her neighbors. She has been invested for 25 years and is growing weary. A recent widow, she revealed ways that she too had been praying for spiritual partners within this community and believed that we were that answer.

Knowing that someone like Diane has been praying for you long before you ever considered moving in the neighborhood is pretty incredible. She has prayed over our home as we have had many tenants in and out of this home -- some involved in very dark and shady things. She even snuck in while it was temporarily tenant-less and anointed our home with oil -- including our basement. Seriously? This is God.

And now we are here. Building on the foundations that have already been built by people like Diane -- fighting spiritual strongholds through prayer, building relationships in an environment of distrust, and exhorting neighbors to love the land and show each other respect. She has given me such a great model of incarnational ministry at its best.

Just last week, Diane invited all of us over to her place -- the gift of reciprocity. She spoiled us rotten with a delicious spread of hors d'oeuvres, wine, gourmet dinner and dessert. We lingered for hours in her backyard -- which is a peaceful haven in the midst of the noise of this city. At the end of our time, we prayed for each other, blessed each other, and parted ways.

We are hopeful that this is just the beginning of a beautiful relationship and partnership. This is just one of many confirmations that we are supposed to be here.