to sing in the silence: Howdy Ho, Good Neighbor...

Howdy Ho, Good Neighbor...

I love my dad. He’s such a great guy. But one thing I will say - he has interesting television watching habits. Sometimes, he’ll watch the same show and/or movie over and over, just because he loves it so much. I suppose we all have similar tendencies, but for some reason, my dad especially makes me giggle when I think of repetitive television show watching. I think my mom believes it’s genetic, and that I inherited the “repetitive watching” gene from him. I beg to differ, but I suppose my adolescent years filled with repeat episodes of Full House, Saved By the Bell, and the Wonder Years would prove otherwise.

Growing up, I remember my dad habitually watching the show Home Improvement. I can still remember the theme song as if I had just watched an episode 2 minutes ago. I too loved watching the show, and can remember a lot of funny things about different episodes.

But over the past few weeks, that show has been on my mind an unusual amount. Strange, I know. But what I keep thinking about is Wilson - you know, that strange, quirky neighbor who was on the other side of the fence from Tim Taylor, who’s face you could never quite see...

So why do I keep thinking about Wilson?

Well, there are a few reasons. Over the past few months, I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on the community of people I have been blessed to be a part of. Don’t get me wrong. We have had our share of ups and downs. We’ve experienced amazing moments of growth and closeness, and we’ve also experienced many moments of hurt, pain, and distance. But through it all, I have found myself overwhelmingly blessed by the people that surround me.

One of the reasons I have been blessed by my friends is that they’re always there. Maybe not in person, and maybe not for lengthy periods of time - but they’re there. In my joyful moments, and in my darkest moments, they’re there with emails, texts, coffee talks, walks, and a plethora of other things to let me know they are there for me. This was the kind of person that Wilson was for Tim on Home Improvement. Did you ever notice that every time Tim went outside, Wilson was there? During his moments of joy, and times of sadness, “Howdy ho, good neighbor,” he was there.

Another reason I have been thinking about Wilson is that he always had the most timely, wise advice or encouraging word for Tim. Do you ever notice that Wilson never complained? He was always so positive, and always looking for ways to encourage and uplift Tim, even in his “redirection” (which Tim often needed). I love this - and I want to BE this kind of neighbor. I want to strive to always be positive, always be loving, and always provide encouragement... even if my encouragement is in the middle of redirection. The community I belong to is a pretty good example of that. I am so grateful to have this positive force in my life - people who always seek to encourage, uplift, and gently redirect.

And finally, Wilson is WONDERFULLY patient and full of grace. Part of the humor of Home Improvement is the fact that the protagonist is a screw up - he always makes mistakes, and always finds himself in predicaments. And yet even though, time after time, Tim makes these mistakes and Wilson would have every right to be frustrated with him, he isn’t. He doesn’t condemn him. He doesn’t rail into him. He doesn’t ignore him or push him away. He listens - over and over again - with amazing patience and unconditional love.

That to me, is amazing. That is a true neighbor. One who loves you no matter what. No matter how emotional you are, no matter how many mistakes you make, no matter how consistent (or inconsistent) you are... No matter what, he is there for him, he loves him, and will continue to support and encourage him in any way possible.

Wilson is a great neighbor.

Don’t get me wrong... I think the bible is laced with tons of amazing examples of how to be a good neighbor, and what it means to be a good neighbor. I try not to always take examples from pop culture...

But I couldn’t help this one. For some reason, Home Improvement - and more specifically, Wilson - came to mind recently, and I’ve been thinking a lot about him.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of being with a group of people for a Palm Sunday dinner. A couple of times during the day, I stopped to look around the room and was humbled to see who I was sharing the room with. Such amazing and beautiful people. Creative people, smart people, younger people, older people, people who have had a lot of life experience, people who are just beginning their life experiences...

People who are thoughtful, people who are loving, people who are generous, people who are full of grace...

Some of the people in the room I knew well, others I didn’t know at all - but it didn’t matter. They were all beautiful to me. I felt honored and blessed to be with them.

May I learn to be like Wilson (and my friends) - who are always THERE, who seek to be positive and encouraging in all circumstances, and who never give up on people but strive to bring out the best in them.

May I learn to love like these people:

(photo courtesy of Mike Fuchs)

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"The pages are still blank, but there is a miraculous feeling of the words being there, written in invisible ink and clamoring to become visible." ~Vladimir Nabakov