The Invitation by Lynn J Simpson

                         The second is this; Love you neighbour as yourself. 

                          There is no commandment greater than these. Mark 12:31

Where are you in relationship with others?

That was one question asked to us by author and speaker Rosemary Flaaten at a Women's Breakfast I was attending. There is no doubt that we are made for relationship. But how willing are you to connect at a deeper level? Do you have relationships that go beyond your front door? Or do they stop at the kitchen and never see the garden?

I loved how Rosemary described relationships levels by how far we invite others into our homes.

First is Street Level. These relationships are like the people whose homes you pass by in your neighbourhood and take a peek through their windows to gawk at their television or the cat in their window.

Second is the Front Door. These people have a reason to be at your home. Maybe they are the carpet cleaner boys, the UPS men, or the girls selling girl guide cookies.

Third is the Living Room. These relationships are those we invite in beyond our front door but only into our living rooms where they see us in our best light. No messiness, no dust.

Fourth is our Kitchen. In the kitchen is where we do life, where stuff gets a bit messy, where mistakes happen and, importantly, where we nourish each other.

Then last is the Garden. The garden is pretty place but it also where lies our soil , our roots, even our compost,  the scraps of our life. Those we invite into our garden we also invite in to see beyond what is on the surface. There is no judgement, just acceptance and love. These people we allow to see the heart of who we are. And for most of us that may be one or two, or maybe three confidants. It is the deepest level of relationship, the most rewarding, yet the hardest door to open.

What keeps people out of our hearts?

Our attitudes can lock the doors, those locking  attitudes of anger, envy, and judgement.

The scariest part of inviting others into our garden is our assumption that they will judge us.

But an attitude of grace erases judgement. It accepts others and ourselves for who we are, and opens the door to forgiveness. 

Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, 

bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Above all, love each other deeply, 

because love covers over a multiple of sins. 1 Peter 4:8

Who is in your garden today? Or are there relationships in your kitchen waiting to be invited into your garden?

Love does no harm to a neighbour.

 Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:10

Saskatchewan’s New Flag - Pam Mytroen

When was the last time you saw Saskatchewan’s provincial flower, the Western Red Lily? Or our bird, the sharp-tailed Grouse? How about our provincial tree? Did you even know Saskatchewan had a provincial tree? I think they’re still looking for that one.

I’d like to suggest a much more fitting symbol - “The Community Bulletin Board”. It represents life in small town Saskatchewan. Have you had a good look lately?

Let’s see, there are a couple hand-written flyers for garage sales, and slapped over those are announcements for a tea at a long-term care home, and a fundraising poster to help a local family. And there’s an announcement for a bridal shower, the latest art exhibition at the gallery, and dangling from the corner is a plea for help in weeding central park. The list flaps on and on like a colorful clothesline in the Saskatchewan breeze.

Flying by the bulletin board, we pause hardly long enough to realize that all of these events are put on by people who are helping each other and expecting nothing in return except to see our town as a safe and beautiful place. A place where your neighbors will help you vacuum your flooded basement.

When asked why they do these things, most people pause, searching for an intelligent answer. Their parents did it before them - that is, they too opened their homes and wallets for fundraisers, tuned their fiddles for the latest event, and donated countless hours helping others.

“Love your neighbor” was the guiding philosophy that shaped our culture, that raised barns and children to stand up tall and stable. Love sent pots of chicken-noodle soup and home-made bread to welcome a new family next door, and it swung hammers and shingled roof-tops to re-build a burnt home.

Whether it’s the Food Bank or the Art Gallery, Kinsmen/Kinettes or the Women’s Auxiliary, the 55 Club or Communities in Bloom, that sacred mandate still hums its ancient tune beneath the rhythm of our busy lives.

We are still neighbors. We still care for each other. “Love your neighbor” is the fire that continues to warm our winters and sustain us through the floods, and other surprises that Saskatchewan delivers.

Stop and stand by our new ‘flag’ when you see another announcement get tacked on. And consider the possibility of adding one yourself. Come to think of it, maybe that’s where all our provincial trees have gone.

by Pam Mytroen
Guest Editorial Friday June 10th in Assiniboia Times