A Batch Of Brownies

I hear the rooster all the time.
I have grown to expect it and to actually enjoy its sound.
The rooster makes itself known all day, however.
So much for roosters only crowing in the morning when the sun comes up.

The house to which the rooster belongs was sold months ago.
The house, located deep in the woods, is directly behind our property
I am friends with a sweet woman that lived in the house before.
She comes to the Bible study I teach in my home.

There is really no way to know the people who live in that house.
The estate home sits on almost 20 acres of land.
The estate home sits on land that was deeded to the original family by William Penn.
Our neighborhood of twenty-four homes once belonged to that vast parcel of land.

I had never driven down the long driveway.
When the trees drop their leaves, I still cannot see any of the buildings.
There is a main house, a barn, and quite a few other buildings on the property.
When the new people moved in, I heard a lot of construction noise.

One day a thought came to me.
Go and meet the new people.
It was a random thought.
It seemingly came out of nowhere.

When the thought would not go away, I decided to listen to the prompting.
I made a batch of my special brownies and wrote a note, which I attached to the top.
It was simply a welcome note on which I wrote our name, address, and phone number.
The estate house is around the corner, though it can be reached directly through the woods.

I remember the day I drove up the long driveway.
It seemed like another world.
It was quiet and the trees were lush with foliage.
I did not know where to look or what door to approach.

There were cars on the roundabout.
There was no one in sight.
I felt very vulnerable.
I remember thinking, if they are in the main house, they can see me but I cannot see them.

I knocked on what appeared to be the front door.
There was no answer.
I looked towards a pool house but saw no one.
I looked towards the barn and another cottage home further back.

There was no one there.
I got in my car still carrying my brownies and note.
I turned the car around and drove down the driveway.
I remember thinking that if I lived on all of this land, I would never leave.

The brownies were eaten by my husband and others who stopped by.
You tried, my husband said.
I thought that was that.
A few weeks went by and then the prompting came again.

I tried to dismiss it.
I argued with myself.
I mentally listed all the reasons why I should not go back with more brownies.
The prompting won out, yet again.

I made two batches of brownies.
One batch was for us, since my youngest daughter was coming home.
The other batch was for the people who lived behind us.
Again, I wrote a welcome note with our name, address, and phone number.

Again, I drove down the long driveway.
I saw quite a few spots that would easily be my favorite place to sit.
I got up to the main house and saw more cars this time.
No one was in sight; there was no activity at all.

I decided to go up to the side porch.
Since my porch is my favorite spot, I felt comfortable there.
I knocked loudly on a brass door knocker.
No answer; only serenity and silence.

An adorable orange tabby cat came up on the porch to greet me.
She rubbed her body along the edge of my maxi skirt.
She had a unique purr.
She was friendly and never left my side.

I knocked on the brass door knocker once more.
No answer.
I decided to leave the brownies and the note on a lovely porch table.
At least the people would see the welcome note and have our name.

I said goodbye to the cat, who was still rubbing herself against my skirt.
I got back in the car and wrote another note that I intended to put in their mailbox.
It simply said, I am sorry that I missed you.
I am the neighbor who lives behind you. I left brownies on your side porch. Enjoy.

I stopped at the mailbox that was at the end of the long driveway.
The mailbox was full of mail.
I tucked the note under the first piece of mail so it would not get lost.
I drove home the short distance wondering if I did the right thing.

Do you ever do something and cringe about it afterward?
Would I eat brownies left by someone I didn’t know?
What if the people were away?
Would the brownies even be seen or get moldy and gross before they took off the tin foil?

There was nothing I could do about it now.
I could not go back and get the brownies.
I could not undo what I did.
The brownies were there on the table until the people see them, whenever that will be.

I was still cringing and second guessing my decision to leave the brownies.
A verse came to mind, which soothed my spirit.
We are called to be hospitable whether the hospitality is accepted or not.
We are called to be hospitable without grumbling; cringing was unacceptable.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. (1 Peter 4:8,9)

I have not heard from the new people who live behind me.
I hope to hear from them, not for thank you, but rather to laugh about the whole thing.
I have told a few friends what I did.
They all agreed that they would not eat brownies left by a stranger.

Neither would I.
The idea seemed like a good one at the time.
Oh well…
The orange tabby cat and I got along just fine.

______________________________________________________________

POSTSCRIPT:
My phone rang.
I heard the voice of a woman making sure she had called the right person.
Who am I speaking to? I asked her.
She told me her name and thanked me for the brownies I left on her porch.

I could never have made up such an amazing ending to a story.
God’s timing is perfect.
God is never late.
Why do I not trust Him with other things for which I am waiting?

My neighbor is lovely.
She actually ate some of the brownies.
We laughed about the entire story, as I hoped we would.
We are planning to finally meet face to face.

God went before me.
I am so glad I listened to His little nudges.
I am glad my own feeble arguments did not win.
I am still smiling that an orange tabby cat is not my only friend.