How Do We Learn to Love Our Neighbors? A Lesson from my Mother

This article was first published in Contact Magazine: Gordon Conwell’s Ministry Magazine Fall 2017 edition By age 16, my family had moved a total of nine times. Nine different cities, nine different neighborhoods. A plethora of different neighbors. We always moved to places where we were one of the only people of color. We were ALWAYS the “others,” the “those people;” the “strangers.” I was used to smiling and going out of my way to try and make people comfortable with my “otherness.” In the sea of names, faces and people that make up my collective memories, one person stands out: Mrs. B. It was the day after one of our many move-ins. I was in the…