“One of the most powerful things I learned is that when you transform your immediate environment, your life begins to change.” These are the words of Lily Yeh in 2005 when she was asked to reflect on her years of service to her Philadelphia neighbourhood. It was in the 1980’s that Yeh walked through her neighbourhood and saw it in a state of disrepair. She saw abandoned lots, closed stores and hopelessness. In communities that are hard hit by economic troubles, unemployment or higher rates of crime, a new kind of despair can set in. Neighbours begin to wonder if anything can change, if better times are in the past, and if goodness can win the day.
It was into this sorrow that Lily Yeh began to change her community. She started with cleaning up trash, then she made a plan to create a small park in an abandoned lot. In time local people joined her and, as she says, kids wondered what, “this crazy Chinese lady” was up to. It turns out, she was giving her community the greatest gift of hope and new life that they could ever hope to ask for.
Some of the best gifts come from the most unlikely places. Often they come to us when we least expect it. For Lily Yeh, it came from a place within, a heart full of love and compassion for her community. One thing seems certain, the unexpected arrival of a gift we need, at just the right time, is something that we all hope for and something we hope to give each other.
In this season of cold dark days, of pandemic restrictions, of bad news stories, mounting bills, and infighting around many corners, we wonder where hope might come from. We wonder if there is anything to be hopeful about at all. The story of Christmas is a story for such a time as this. It is a story of God’s love for a world experiencing pain, hurt, and hopelessness. In truth, the story of Christmas is set in a place with elements both strange and relatable. It is about an oppressive Roman regime, a young mother, tumultuous politics, a long journey, poverty, hopeful undertones, and religious complexities. The Christmas story says that into this chaos God came as a baby. Not a mighty warrior, great politician, or billionaire. God came into a small, back-water, and unexpected place. God moved into the neighbourhood to love it. An unexpected gift to a world that was aching. Somewhere in the odd paradoxes of this story is a gift of hope that has resonated for 2000 years, and offers comfort to us again now.
Twenty years later the neighbourhood that Yeh loved has turned into so much more. With the help of her community, Yeh’s once desolate and destroyed community is now host to green spaces, art, new businesses, a tree farm, performance centre, playground, repaired buildings, and even homes for those without. 99 square blocks of Philadelphia were impacted by the thoughtful resolve of one woman to unwrap the gift of hope for her neighbourhood.
However you celebrate Christmas this year, may you see this season as a gift given, and received. May you see that our community, and everyone who lives here, is worth loving and caring for – that the great gift we can give is a heart of compassion and hope for others – because it is a gift first given to us. In this moment, and in such a time as this, may we again move into our neighbourhoods, because we all matter here. From the Pouteaux home, Lake Ridge Community Church, and myself, we wish you a very Merry Christmas.
