Who is My Neighbor?

     The last of our boxes and cargo are loaded up in a 10x30, climate-controlled box in North Texas. Our move from Beaumont is complete. No more mortgage. No more home-ownership and all of the stress that goes with this privilege. As I said before, I am going to enjoy the next few months. I look forward to some financial breathing room and a break from the headaches of home improvement.
     Thank you, God, for your provision and faithfulness.
     And thank you, God, for good neighbors.
     We could not have loaded up our stuff without the support of neighbors like "Ron," my gruff, retired, ex-Marine of a neighbor. When I was trying to hoist my concrete-filled basketball pole out of the ground and the disks in my back were just about to pop out of place, Ron came out with his ladder, channel locks, sledge hammer, and other tools and helped remove the monster from the ground. And when I was called inside to help my wife take down curtain rods and other moving-day projects, he stayed there - cigarette dangling out of his mouth - until the job was done.
     Bless you, Ron.
     Russ and Laura, our neighbors across the street, cleaned out our freezer and fridge.
     Need I say more?
     They also let our daughter spend the night with their daughter for two nights, so Kim and I could get work done, and they even bought our family pizza and welcomed us into their home.
     Stacy and Andy, great friends who live down the street, took in two of our sons for the day (and one of them overnight), so we could get work done. There were other neighbors there in our time of need, and others who would have helped if we had asked.
     The point is that there are few simpler pleasures in life than neighbors coming together to help other neighbors. Honestly, I do not know if I would have been as kind if I had seen my neighbors in need.
I would have been too "busy" to stop and serve. I would have assumed "somebody else" would help them.
     At any rate, I am humbled by the simple acts of love and service by my neighbors.
     Their help was unsolicited and unexpected. They are more than people I happened to live beside for three years. They were truly my neighbors.