My next-door neighbor has a new roof that doesn’t
leak anymore and upgraded electric system that won’t set her house on fire.
With the help of a generous friend, we cleared over 14,000 pounds of debris off
her property. It was mostly trash that was never taken to the town dump.
You see she gave up her car to have money to live
on. I helped her apply for a senior discount on her phone bill. With the
savings, she could now get trash service. But, she still needs more money to
live on because half of her income goes to pay mortgage and taxes. I noticed
that she was paying 6.5% interest on her mortgage, yet most mortgages go for
about 3.5%. Her bank never
suggested that she could refinance her mortgage to save money to buy groceries.
I asked my neighbor if she would be willing to
check to see if she could get a better interest rate to save money and she
agreed. Last week, we went to the bank together. The bank mortgage manager must
have reviewed the neighbor’s mortgage because within a few minutes she had a
plan where this senior could save herself $80 per month and get her mortgage
rate lowered to 3.5% interest.
On the way home, my neighbor asked me, if I owed
the woods where she likes to rest after taking a walk in our woods with her dog.
I told her that the local farmer sold the parcel to another person for a profit
and I was never asked to make a bid for the parcel. She enjoys walking in our
park and takes a rest on a log in the woods. However, one day last week, the
new owner came on his gator and pointed out to her that the log was on his
private property. She did not know he owned that part of the woods where the
log sits. He told her not to comeback since he did not want to be liable if she
fell on his land.
When I told this story to my best friend, she went
to the shed and pulled out a lawn chair and plot it into the woods on our side
of the border. She told me to call our neighbor and tell her that she could
rest with her dog anytime.
That my friends is what it means to be being
neighbor. It’s not the minimum you can get away with that gets you eternal life;
it’s the great soul within each of us. With this message of love, take this
message and walk the talk.
God watches over us as we pray: “ Those who
despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy are those who are kind to the
poor.” (Proverbs 14:21).
Lord, I pray for all my Sonshine Friends who lend
a helping hand to their neighbors. May their good works be their ticket to
heaven.
