When I was in high school, my family and I were in a “long-term camping” situation. We lived on acreage of undeveloped land about one hour south of the nearest town. With no utilities and such a remote location, it was the most rural this city girl had ever experienced.
Since we were so far from town, each day required a one-hour drive to school in the morning and a one-hour drive home every afternoon. On the outskirts of town – on the only road that went where we were going – there was a certain place where it changed from blacktop to gravel. As soon as I heard the tires make the shift to the crunch of the rocks, it was like hearing an announcement that I was now leaving the comforts of town and I could count on one thing: the wave.
From that point on, I could count on a 4-fingered gesture from the top of the steering wheel of each passing car. It didn’t matter if we knew the occupants, or if we even liked one another, EVERYone waved.
But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
Luke 10:29
My neighbors. All of them fiercely independent and living in those mountains because they didn’t really want to have folks in their business. My neighbors. Some of whom would fire off a warning shot to encourage us to turn around if they weren’t prepared for our visit. My neighbors. Folks who enjoyed the fresh mountain air and preferred the wildlife over the humankind. My neighbors. People who believed and lived by the mantra that good (barbed-wire and occasional electrified) fences make good neighbors. My neighbors. The ones who would be the first to stop if they saw you sitting on the side of the road in the pouring rain with a flat tire and break out their hydraulic jack to help get a spare on in record time. My neighbors. The people who religiously gave the four-fingered greeting to each one they passed because they were neighbors.
Life marched on and I eventually moved away from that mountain, finished school, married, and changed towns. Then a little over a year ago, I found myself driving back up that mountain quite a bit more than I had in quite some time. To this day, the road changes from blacktop to gravel in the exact same place. On my first return trip, I laughed out loud when the first vehicle I encountered on the gravel road offered the wave and I found myself instinctively waving back at the exact same moment. The muscle memory took over and reminded me that each person on that mountain, whether I knew them or not, was my neighbor.
Over the next several weeks, a few of them would stop by Dad’s land, park on the road, and make the walk down the rutted, gravel driveway while hollering, “Hello! Anyone home?” They didn’t know if it was a good time for a visit or if they could expect a warning shot. Each one would introduce themselves, shake my hand, and tell me how sorry they were for our family’s loss. They knew him as the Mountain Man, Fast Eddie, or Slats and had heard through the neighborhood grapevine of his recent passing. They had stories to tell and just wanted to share a few in his memory. They had shared countless waves, after all.
Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all people,
especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
Galatians 6:10
The wave. The mountain version of “doing good to all people.” The wave let us know that we were seen. The wave acknowledged our existence on that rural road. The wave said we belonged here together….even if we did have acres of land between us. The wave was a simple way to encourage those we encountered with a small act of kindness. You know, we might be better off incorporating the wave into our daily drives too. We don’t need gravel roads to acknowledge our neighbors before driving into our garages at the end of the day. We don’t need permission to holler, “Hello!” across the street. In fact, we don’t need an invitation to walk across the street and shake a hand. Waving, smiling, shaking hands – doing good to all people – are beautiful ways to simply demonstrate the love of the Lord and remind them…
You are adored.
You Are Adored 