Back Door Friends

I love when friends come to my back door.
There are three possible doors to enter my home, not counting the garage.
Two doors are in the front of my house.
The back door leads into the kitchen.

There is a main front door which leads into the foyer.
There is a second front door that leads into the laundry room.
There are also two doors that go out to my side porch but no one comes in the house that way.
It is my back door that only good friends use.

Those friends that use the back door are familiar.
They have been to my house many times before.
Formality is gone.
They know that they can come on the deck and even enter my house if the door is unlocked.

Not everyone would consider coming to the back door.
Most people come to the front door and ring the doorbell.
The laundry room door is used by the UPS delivery person.
I always know to look for my packages there.

I can always tell when we have a new UPS delivery person.
The new person will never leave a package in the same place twice.
Even our mail carrier will leave things at my second front door.
The second front door is less formal.

I really like when people feel comfortable enough to use the back door.
Besides my family, there are a handful of friends that will come in my house that way.
I have a sign that hangs next to my back door.
The sign is made of flagstone and is there for anyone to see.

Welcome To Our Back Door.

Only the friends who come in my house that way can see the sign.
The welcome is just as warm at the other doors.
But there is something about the back door.
There is something nice about being familiar.

My children know the codes to get into our garage.
They know that they can pull inside one of the three garages, if no car is parked there.
No one else would ever dream of pulling into my garage.
No one else would know how to enter my house.

You have to be familiar.
You have to have that kind of relationship.
Not everyone is at that level of closeness.
That level of closeness is reserved for a few, not the many.

Not everyone you meet can be a back door friend.
Not everyone you meet can pull into your garage.
Not everyone you meet can know your garage door codes.
Not everyone you meet can just come up on the deck and come inside.

Building relationships takes time.
A level of trust has to be established first.
Trust is built by revealing a bit more of yourself little by little.
It is as if you test the waters first.

You should be nice and kind to everyone you meet.
Not everyone you meet will be your friend.
However, everyone you meet is considered your neighbor.
Kindness, compassion, and empathy should be extended to everyone.

We can only be close to a few people at any given time.
Only a few people in our lives can really know us.
Only a few people in our lives know our life story from the very beginning.
Usually those people are the ones that have walked alongside us.

He called His twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and sickness. These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (who is called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;  Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. (Matthew 10:1-4)

After this, the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.  Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:1-3)

After six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John with him and led them up a high mountain where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. (Mark 9:1,2)

They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. (Mark 14:32,33)

Jesus was very intentional about building community.
Jesus was kind to all the people He met.
Jesus loved His disciples.
However, only three, Peter, James, and John, were His back door friends.

Peter, James, and John witnessed the most miracles.
Peter, James, and John saw Jesus transfigured before them.
There was trust in the relationship they had together.
Peter, James, and John knew Jesus best because they shared many moments with Him.

If Jesus purposely built community, then so should we.
If Jesus had the Three, and the Twelve, and the Seventy-two then so should we.
Jesus had main front door friends and second front door friends.
Jesus had back door friends with whom He shared key moments.

Somehow, knowing that brings me comfort.
Our lives cannot be an open book to everyone we meet.
Some people will be closer to us than others.
Having those trusted back door friends is a great blessing.

I am so thankful for Jesus’ example.