The Neighbors

The Neighbors

The whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Galatians 5:14

My husband and I are admittedly inept homeowners. We’re the ones who had to use fire extinguishers on two different grills after they each started on fire, the ones who had sparks shooting from the microwave when we turned it on with nothing inside it. Yep, we’re those people.

Thank goodness we moved into a nice neighborhood. Oh, I don’t mean that the houses are pretty or the lawns are well kept, although that is true. I mean that we have incredibly kind neighbors. They’re the folks we call when my husband gets locked in our basement while I’m at the movie theater and not responding to his frantic messages, or when there’s a suspicious gas smell in the garage. They also graciously tolerate our wild, hooligan children racing through their lawns or talking to them incessantly while they work in their gardens.

Our previous neighborhood was very different. Most days I would come home from work, drive the car into the garage, and close the door before going inside. Although a couple of families were kind enough to invite us to dinner, Tim and I didn’t make an effort to get to know many people. I’m ashamed to admit that I wouldn’t be able to pick most of them out in a crowd.

Why is this neighborhood so different? It’s not the quality of the houses or the nature of the people, in my opinion—the neighbors we did know in our old neighborhood were certainly kind. In my mind, the difference has been in the intention. Our current neighbors invite our family to do things, and if we say no, they still invite us the next time. They take the time to visit or wave to us and our children. They’ve brought us baby gifts, meals, and jars of Christmas goodies. They truly live out the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself. In turn, we’ve found ourselves reaching back to them, engaging in acts of kindness throughout the year that let them know we care.

—Kristin

— Today’s Act of Kindness —

Reach out to a neighbor in an intentional way. Drop off cookies, have your children make them a card, or simply give them your time and attention when you see them outside.