life lessons from my amish neighbor

If it weren't for us, the average age on our block would be about 81. Our next-door neighbors to the north of us are Amish. They're really good neighbors. We don't see much of them in the winter. They're not out much and, well, neither are we. Now that spring is upon us, we're starting to see them more.

I enjoy conversations with Dan (also known as "Sleepy Dan"--I asked him about his nickname today and he didn't seem to be too fond of it...so I dropped it). Dan has always shown an interest in our new church building. I kept him up-to-date as it was being constructed. I also promised him that one of these days I'd take him over to see it.

Now that spring is here--sort of--Jenny and I figured we'd invite our Amish neighbors, along with the neighbors behind us (Albert and Ginny, who by the way have lived in the same house for 59 years) to lunch at Bob Evans and a tour of NewPointe.

Today was the day. We loaded up Dan and his wife, Viola, into our mini-van (Al and Ginny drove themselves--they're in their mid-eighties, by the way), and we headed over to the church.

It's so much fun to give tours to folks who haven't seen NewPointe yet. My favorite part is not just showing them the building (although it's very cool)...my favorite part is explaining how we use the building and our vision behind it.

The tour took a little over an hour...partly because Albert just talks and talks...and talks. We had a great time. Of course, I always wonder what Amish people really think about the way we do church.

The room they raved the most about? The kitchen! :)

After the tour we took them all to Bob Evans. Andrew went along with us. He even offered to say 'grace' before the meal so we took him up on that. His prayer went something like this: "Dear Jesus, thank you for...what are their names Mommy? Albert, and Ginny, and..." he went around the table and thanked God for each of them.

On the drive home Viola shared with us that she wishes her grandson would come try NewPointe. He's 21 and doesn't have a church home. She even told us that she's offered to come with him but she just can't get him interested in church. I told her to tell him this: "My neighbor, John, is going to preach on May 6...and I want to hear him...and I need you to take me." She said she just might try that.

Also on the drive home, I mentioned to Dan, "Boy, that Albert sure is a talker!" Dan chuckled and said, "There's only one Albert." He continued, "Sometimes I'm hesitant to begin a conversation with him because I know I'm gonna be stuck there a while." Cracks me up because we've all thought that...he finally said what we all think.

And then he added this nugget...thus the title for this post...a life lesson from Sleepy Dan: "So sometimes I just walk away while he's talking."

I laughed and said, "Really?" Dan says, "Yeah, and Albert just keeps on talking as I'm walking away."

So...the lesson...sometimes, if we want to get anything done, we just have to walk away. That conversation will be waiting for Dan tomorrow...and the day after that...and the next day...and the next day...