FUNKY FAYETTEVILLE

Not many towns flaunt THAT adjective. "Funky" can be music with a certain beat, a dark-brown attitude, an odor of the unwashed...or something original or unconventional. Those last two words really describe Fayetteville. The businesses have such creative names and the feel of business is like business conducted during Richie Cunningham and The Fonz's era. Let me be specific:

We were recliner shopping at LazyBoy when we heard Christian background music (common up here) and the salesman told us that their store is the ONLY LazyBoy in the country who is closed on Sunday. The owner says the Lord is able to provide for him if he chooses to open 6 days instead of 7. When we ordered window coverings, Beverly (the 'blind' lady) did not require us to put half of the price as a down-payment...and she gave us a jar of complementary pickles that her sister sells. Who does that? When I changed my mind about an already-delivered set of sinks for the master bath, Judy from the plumbing store didn't charge a restock fee. Unheard of! Rodrigo, the painter, patched and sanded and painted his brains out. An electrician named Travis has been with us so much we are considering adoption. I called a tile man the other day to find a specific product and he directed me to Home Depot. Isn't that the way business used to be conducted? Surely Mike and I are time travelers.

And just listen to these creative business names. We looked at granite at "Take Me for Granite" and the plumbing came from "Plumb Perfect". One of our new fav places to eat is the Sunrise Cafe (painted bright yellow, of course). It is open 24 hours and their motto is "no one is ugly after 2 AM!" You can actually get 2 eggs, 2 pieces of sausage, and 2 pancakes for $4. And for my doggie-lover friends? Decide between these canine daycare destinations..."Bark Avenue" or "Camp Bow Wow". Of course, I'm starting to pine for planting my perennials, so a neighbor recommended a plant nursery named "Chicken Holler". I LOVE this town!

Now lest the impression be left that Funky Fayetteville is Nirvana...let me describe the storm of August 5th when the ground was covered with white. Hunks of hail flew from all directions! We have seen straight-down hail and sideways hail, but never hail coming from all directions. It began by peppering, moved on to the golfball size, and then in the middle of the lightning fury, hunks of irregular sizes with sharp edges inflicted punishment. When it stopped the roofers smiled; their pickups have camped in DoubleTree these last weeks. Our screens had huge holes punched in them, it knocked paint off the siding and pockmarked the heat/air unit, and we are getting a new roof. That's twice this year DoubleTree has taken a lickin' from ice. January's ice storm you might expect, but who saw August's ice chunks coming?

Well, that's life. You take the good with the not-so-good. Jesus said the rain falls on the just and the unjust. There are certainly no perfect places this side of the New Jerusalem. But our new town is true to the first three letters of it's defining adjective.

The Message translates that "rain falling on the righteous/unrighteous" (from Matthew 5:43-48) in a different and intriguing way:

"You are familiar with the old written law 'love your friend', and it's unwritten companion, 'hate your enemy'. I (God) am challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does!

He gives His best - the sun to warm and the rain to nourish - to everyone, regardless the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that. In a word, what (God) is saying is grow up. You are kingdom subjects; now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you."