The Neighborly Thing
You shall love thy neighbor as thyself.
Romans 13:9
On one of our trips to Indiana, we were surprised to see an elderly Amish woman struggling to get her horse out of a ditch and back on the road. Before my husband had a chance to respond to the situation, our Amish friend who sat in the backseat of our rental car shouted, “Please, stop the car; I need to help that woman!” My husband had barely stopped the car when our friend jumped out and raced over to the horse and buggy. Having grown up around horses, she wasn’t afraid, and quickly had the horse under control so the elderly woman could get back in her buggy. Watching the situation unfold, I thought of the Bible verse that reminds us that we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. That means helping when we see a need.
It’s easy to find a reason not to get involved — indifference, busyness, or fear. Life for the Amish isn’t about seeing if they can get ahead of their neighbors, but seeing if they can help their neighbors.
As we seek to follow the Lord, we should look for opportunities to help our neighbors. We may be the only Jesus they’ll ever see. Is there something you might do to help one of your neighbors this week?
What a good testimony of neighborly kindness and a good example for us all! How right you are! A situation may be as obvious as this one you told about, but there may others that are not known. For the ‘hidden’ ones, God will show them to us if we but ask that we indeed may be the “Jesus” they will see. Who knows . . . the seed planted may take root and grow into much fruit for God’s honor and glory.
Thank you for your post!
That was loving your neighbor.
I want to do what I can for any neighbor I come across.
That is the way I was raised Wanda. Not spoken lessons but actions. Mom and Dad gave my brother’s baby room furniture to a family who lost everything in the 1955 flood in Easton. They gave food to a lady collecting food for the Ingersoll Rand strikers a few years later. In the 60s we gave food to Aunt Jean and Uncle Jack, when Mack printing was on strike and their 5 children wee still home. I saw my Dad cash a check from a side job at the high school that was for well over $100 and give it too them as well. They taught me by example to do what I could.
I have on many occasions picked up neighbors newspapers from their driveways and put them on their porch by their front door. This saves them a trip down the driveway. I do this on my morning walks.
There is a lady that I pass several mornings a week in my neighborhood while walking. I always smile at her and say “Good morning”. So far she hasn’t smiled nor said Good morning back. I’m determined to keep it up until she greets me back! 🙂
Blessings!
Judy
I take this verse as not only your “neighbors” that live next to you but they can be in the store, parking lot, where you work etc. It is showing the love that Jesus shows us and showing His light through us to others no matter where were at. And in hope they will ask themselves what would make someone do such a kind thing? And would know that there was something difference about that person.
Thank you for posting this
Blessings to all
I “volunteered” to run my neighbor (aka: best friend’s) convenience/deli store for 4 months (6am-9pm, 7 days a week), while she took care of her terminally ill mother day and night. I went so far as to sign her checkes to pay bills and did her banking as well. I did it so that some day, a good deed will be done for me when I’m in need as well as to help her be able to spend the time she had laftt with her mom and keep her worldly possessions, as this was her only means of income. I’d do it all over again if some one needed help and appreciated it.
A lady who attends the same church as myself told me that her son and daughter-in-law were getting a divorce and also, that her Mother recently had a stroke and could not feed herself. Beside being distraught over these two things, she was upset because she could not be at the Nursing Home as much as she wanted to help her Mother eat.
I told her I would volunteer to feed her Mother a couple of times a week if that would be okay with her and her Mother. It was okayed and for the past month I have been assisting her with eating and also reading scripture and praying with her. (The Mother was a former Pastor’s wife.)
The daughter tells me I will never know how much she appreciates my help. But, I do know!! I like visiting this precious woman and I can see gains are being made in her recovery.
If we keep our eyes and ears open to things going on around us, we will find many opportnities to help someone. And the person doing the helping often gets a greater feeling of satisfaction that the one helped.
Acts of kindness from others big or small is what makes our country great. No matter what, God is in control and if we let him work even in the small ways we can make such an impact on a persons life….. Thank you to all the men , women and children who go that extra step, and for those who don’t we will pray one day you will…….
At my church we call that kind of helping, ‘Jesus with skin on!’
I think one way that we can help our neighbors is by praying for them.
What a great blessing to see Gods word in use, and what a great exsample to us.
I always look out and help my neighbors this elderly lady was shopping at the local grocery store and the gentleman that was helping bag her groceries didn’t even offer to help her to her car I watched as she was struggling to put everything in her car so I went over and helped her . This is the last good thing I did for someone else I am sure when I am out and about today I will do something else for someone .
I’ve often stopped to help people stuck by the side of the road, and have sometimes had to beg the driver of a car I as traveling in to do so– people are more afraid of what might happen, sometimes, than worried about the time lost. But it’s what keeps kindness floating around, and I have found that goodwill has a way of floating on back to me, too.
I believe this is what GOD wants us to do as it is said in the bible- help our neighbors and offer our service when one or the other is in needed. I help my next door neighbor out with food from our garden, like Turpin greens and squash, tomatoes. She has a hard time getting by now days from month to month with her monthly check. I also help out my nephew’s girlfriend by babysitting her oldest son while she takes care of her newest bundle of joy. I gives me a chance to bond with my great nephew and sense of hope for new joy in my life. I miss my youngest son and have not seen him in almost three years and miss those years that has been lost by this separation of mother and son. May God bring us closer to one another soon.
I remember as a child in a family with 9 children the ‘help thy neighbor’ atmosphere. My Dad was a carpenter that sometimes couldn’t support his family because of the constant “strikes” that the Union called for (the 50’s and 60’s). So he left that profession to drive a taxi cab. Then the Unions formed and they went on strike… repeatedly. Dad did whatever he had to do to see us safe and fed, however it often was very hard to do. We learned the true gift of giving as one of their friends brought a car load of food to our home. Other friends ‘hired’ Dad to do carpentry work for them so that he was still providing for his family (and his pride). Another time the church filled our cabinets and refrigerator for us. God truely provides and very often uses our neighbors to do so.
I love and enjoy reading your novels because as I read them I can feel the story unfold around me as I read and get into the book. I have been looking for the Kentucky Brothers Trilogy for sometime now as well as more of you work. I have read most of them already and pass them on to my mother to read so that we both can have good use out of the books. Mom, is my best friend and we love to readabu the amish and your novels are our favoirte.
First off I enjoy reading your books. I have been interested in the Amish for many years and like going to Lancaster area to see them. I always am there for my neighbors . Its nice how when disaster strikes how we all can pull together to help each other. When the neighbor ladies house caught fire I volunteered to wash all their laundry for them. There
were 3 small children in the household. Thanks God everyone got out safely that day.
Hi Wanda. Great stories of helping others. I love to help out when I can, it gives you such a great feeling that sometimes I feel guilty that I got such feelings from helping someone else. Last year while driving home after dropping my daughter off at school in the morning, I came across a tree that fell down across the road. It was pouring rain and on the other side of the downed tree was a school bus filled with kids. I parked the car and ran out in the rain to move the tree. Now I am a 5 foot 4 woman, 130 pounds and the tree wasn’t that big, but where I got the strength that day to move the tree back into the ditch so the bus could pass. God was there helping me move it is all that I know. The driver in the school bus just looked at me and I figure he was wondering how a little thing like me could have moved it. I got back into my car, soaked and was feeling so great for helping. If I wasn’t able to move the tree, the bus would have had to turn around and go back 4 miles to drive down another road into town.