Good Neighbors

“Which of the commandments is the greatest?” is a question someone asked Jesus. He replied, that “To love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself, is the greatest commandment of all.” I appreciate the reality in His statement. Our neighbors’ love comes to us through their thoughtfulness while our response comes from loving God and a desire to express it in some way.

Ed and Marie are retired from the farm and are our new neighbors. Ed. is quite inventive and likes to invite us to enjoy the backyard games he made. One game consists of two golf balls fastened together by a piece of rope a foot long. Competitors thrown two of these about 20 feet, to wrap around any one of three horizontal plastic pipes. Scoring is three points, two or one, for the top, middle or bottom bar, respectively. The couple that makes 21 points wins the game.

The other game is also one in which an object is tossed. Each participant throws two three-inch washers to land in a box about fourteen inches square and six inches high. Inside the box is a pipe about five inches in diameter and six inches high. Scoring is three points, two or one, for getting the washers in the pipe, in the box, or within six inches of it. 21 is also a couple’s winning score. Considerable skill is required and friendly competition is engendered.

There is always lots of friendly encouragement and excitement when either the balls wrap around the bars or the washers fall where they have been intended. This is a great opportunity to get to know one another and build solid relationships that make one’s neighbors more than acquaintances; actually good and reliable friends. After a few games, we will enjoy an evening of visiting and some refreshments, either at Ed and Marie’s or at a neighbor’s home.

We enjoy having Ed call on us to say there will be a game at his place that night. He anticipates that everyone in the neighborhood who he invites will enthusiastically accept his kind invitation and Marie’s. It takes friendly folks like Ed and Marie, to make friends of one’s neighbors.

Al is another good neighbor. Several times, as I worked in the yard, he soon became involved. Several overgrown columnar cedars had to be removed, and he wrestled them to the ground, making it easier to remove their roots with his axe. Together, we worked, continuing by chopping a large cedar stump to pieces. Success was measured by having saved the juniper growing between its roots. His long steel bar was indispensable in removing large blocks of concrete buried along the patio where Japanese Holy was to be planted. When he needed a section of his own yard re- sodded, we collaborated, after my wife delivered the necessary trunk-load of sod. Al appreciated our help and we enjoyed reciprocating with ours. He also didn’t mind receiving a plate of freshly baked muffins.

When I mentioned to Paul that I intended to make two drawers for our kitchen cabinets where only the fronts existed, he immediately replied by asking when it would be convenient to come over and survey the project, draw up a plan and select the materials. He revealed that he had been a cabinetmaker trained in Germany and loved doing woodwork. Paul promised to instruct me as we proceeded. We worked well together and got to know each other and our wives. Our friendship has continued by attending church together and dining out on occasion.

I had to replace a plastic deflector on my car. The original was broken off from having been scraped on the curb. I bought a replacement and happened to mention to Ewalt that it needed to be installed. He responded, “Bring it over and we’ll put it on.” I discovered his workshop to be well equipped. He had a hoist and pneumatic wrench, and when I said that I had given away most of my tools when we moved, he replied, “One doesn’t undress until he goes to bed.” He was so familiar with his tools that he needed only to look at a bolt and know the size required for the wrench. I haven’t found a way to show my appreciation, but our conversations easily reveal that there is respect and love for one another from having the same faith in Christ, our personal Saviour. We’ve enjoyed an evening’s visit along with other friends and neighbors at Ewalt and Ruth’s home.

After church one day, we were invited along with another couple, to lunch at a restaurant. The conversation was lively and we learned much about each other. Enduring friendships were established. Our feelings for several others not there, ones suffering serious health concerns, were mutual. Love for those people was evident, just like the trust we have in God for their care.

When our neighbor, Margaret, suggested to me that it would please her father exceedingly, to surprise him with a piper and Highland dancers on his 90th birthday, I immediately consented. Her plan worked beautifully well. The dancers were piped into the backyard to the tune of “Let’s have a Ceilidh,” and then “Happy Birthday.” The dancers sang it on the second time. The sunny day and shady backyard made the setting most enjoyable. “The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen” followed a dance of a similar name, just as the other Scottish songs played on the pipes reminded everyone of places in Scotland. “Scotland the Brave,” “The Road to the Isles,” “Mull o’ Kintyre” and “O Flower of Scotland,” sounded beautiful in the backyard. The well-planned program concluded appropriately, with “Amazing Grace.”

Remembering Robert’s birthday with his favorite music was endearing to him as well as satisfying to those of us who contributed to this wonderful family occasion. When God gives us a special ability, it is only right to share it for the enjoyment of our friends and neighbors. Robert will remember this birthday celebration, and so will Margaret and her family. I will too. I loved being able to play for this most appreciative family.

Interaction with our neighbors has proven to us the truth of Jesus’ statement that the greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves and to love God from the depths of our hearts.