A Little Bit

I have now been in Switzerland for a month and three days. It still makes me laugh when I ask if people know English and they say "A little bit" and then go on to have a 20-minute conversation with me in English. Their little bit is still way more than my little bit. But it also got me thinking about what "little bit" actually is. How much is a little bit? Is it like a pinch and a dash that no one, at least in the Southern United States, knows the exact measurement, or is it an exact amount?

If you know me, then you know that I am more of an observer. When I am walking the streets of Hirzenbach, I observe what I am walking into, on, and around. I see a little bit of gravel, a little bit of grass, and a little bit of people. I also see a little bit of churches here and there. I see a little bit of gates and a little bit of community.

What I can't help but think is that all of these "little bits" say something. I work with the reformed church here, and they have a very open area. To me, that says that they are open for people to come in and to be a part of the body. However, just a few blocks up the street, there is another church. This church has gates in front of it and does not have as much open ground to it. Now, the open ground can be said of where they are in the town. They weren't able to purchase a bigger plot of land, that's fine, not all churches have to have big plots of land or any land for that matter. But with its gates, most of the time shut, I feel that it is closing itself off to the community more so than not. I could be completely wrong in my observations, but how we are building our churches says a lot about how we want to interact with the community. Today, there was a little bit of opening in the gate and to me that says that the church is a little bit of open for the community.

I know this might sound like me reading too much into designs, but if I feel that vibe, then what do the people of Hirzenbach think? How can we be more open if we are still a little bit closed off? We are always just a little bit something. But what do our little bits say to those around us? What do they say to us?