Neighbor
Faith

A Good Neighbor

Every Friday the FMF community writes for five minutes on a prompt given by Kate Motaung. To visit this inspiring community of writers, click here. Today’s prompt is: NEIGHBOR

Like so many I have been watching the photos and videos of Hurricane Harvey. The floodwaters and misery are overwhelming—but so is the kindness of people as they help strangers. The Cajun Navy has volunteered their time and their boats to rescue thousands of people.

My favorite story is about a midwife. As floodwaters rose on her street she was unable to leave her house with her supplies. A neighbor helped her onto an inflatable swan and pushed her to dry ground. She was able to attend the birth of a client.

Natural disasters create situations where the needs of people become obvious. A community spirit develops. It would be wonderful if this spirit became a constant.//

When we were traveling in Finland I was impressed by the kind attention offered to us. So many times a bystander noticed that we were studying a map or looking at street signs, and then offered assistance.

Attentiveness is part of being a good neighbor.

The Gospel of Luke records a question that was posed to Jesus.  Who is my neighbor? Jesus responded with the parable of the Good Samaritan. The man who saw the wounded Samaritan and acted with mercy was a neighbor.

We are called to pay attention to the needs of others. Perhaps it involves asking good questions or being available. And then stepping up to help. I can improve in this area.

Carol is a follower of Jesus and a wife, mom & grandma. She worked for many years as a childbirth nurse and prenatal educator. She recently retired from clinical work. She has written articles for nursing journals and devotionals. Her novel, Aliisa's Letter, was published in 2010 and she is currently working on another project.

8 Comments on “A Good Neighbor

  1. Attentiveness is definitely necessary when wanting to be a good neighbor. It is so easy to get absorbed in our own worlds (and ourselves) and totally miss our neighbors..and the needs of our neighbors! Great reminder!

  2. Your title pulled me in because one of the things I realized with this week’s prompt is that I am not always a good neighbor (which is ironic because I have written about HAVING good neighbors). Carol, thank you for your words here, and in moving forward I will remember… “Attentiveness is part of being a good neighbor”.

  3. I like what you say about attentiveness. being willing to take the time to be aware and interrupted.
    To be outside and welcome connection.

  4. Carol, well, you had me at ‘Cajun Navy’. And you et the hook with ‘inflatable swan’.

    Being a good neighbour can be hard. At the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, I lived across the street from a gay man who was very ill, and unsteady on his feet. His main love was tending his roses, and one day he fell into the bushes, and was pinned by the thorns.

    As he lay there crying and bleeding, I wished that I could have been ANYWHERE else, but there was nothing for it. I lifted him out, he bled all over me, he died a couple of weeks later, I didn’t get AIDS.

    And the really ironic thing – that I saw later that day – was that I was in a profession in which people routinely tried to kill me or the people in my care.

    I’m glad I stepped up, but it did take effort…and I am glad that my neighbour did not seem to notice that.

    He kissed me – on the cheek – the first and last time I was ever kissed by a dude.

    Life is WEIRD.

    #1 at FMF this week.

    https://blessed-are-the-pure-of-heart.blogspot.com/2017/08/your-dying-spouse-357-fine-sense-of.html

    1. Oh my, Andrew. It takes courage to step up and meet the need of someone–especially someone you don’t know. That is an area that I need to work on (with the help of the Lord). I am so glad that you were able to help this man–compassion in the waning days of his life.

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