Neighboring Feedback: Answered prayers and saved lives

The impact of neighboring -- the art and skill of building relationships with the people who live in closest proximity to you -- is as varied as the people involved.

In my own life I have seen the practice of neighboring create friendships, open doors for gospel discussions, provide ministry opportunities, life my own spirits, create a sense of community, bring joy to an otherwise lonely person, improve the security of a neighborhood, and even provide support for my wife when she was facing a cancer diagnosis. 

But this week, I am sharing some recent examples that individuals have shared with me.

First, from Springfield, Mo.: I had been struggling with knowing where to start in my neighboring journey. My neighborhood is small (8 homes) and there is a lot of distance between homes. For several weeks I had been praying for God's leading in this area. Then on News Year's Day we had new neighbors knock on our door and deliver some goodies. I didn't even know someone had moved into the house yet and here they were delivering a gift! But it opened the door for me to go pay them a visit, and it also led to a conversation with the people standing there in the entrance to my home about the importance of knowing and loving our neighbors.

From Paducha, Kentucky: I wanted to share a story with you, related to the Neighboring 101 series I’ve been following along with for the last year. One of the first things I learned from your series and the resources that you provide is that neighboring is an action and a practice, and one of the first steps you take to get started is to learn your neighbor’s names. I temporarily moved back into my old neighborhood ... I am blessed to live next door to my parents. ... I made an effort to get to know the neighbors. It’s been great. Then, about a month ago, my entire street was demolished by a tornado (the December 10 tornadoes that impacted Mayfield, KY and other places). My family and I are fine and sorting through the aftermath, but I wanted to let you know how your Neighboring 101 series made a difference in this scenario. Knowing my neighbors saved lives. My neighbor across the street was the first to find out if I was okay, and the first to help dig through rubble to find survivors. As an engaged neighbor, I was able to help identify who/how many people lived in the houses on my street. I knew if they had a dog to look for, where their family might be contacted, if they needed mobility assistance. I was able to do this because I was encouraged to take on the practice of neighboring through your 101 series! Thanks so much for providing that opportunity. It made a big difference where I live.

From Republic, Missouri: We just received the wonderful prize today for Good Neighboring in Republic. Wow!!!! We were expecting to receive a small gift card to someplace. What an amazing surprise! I appreciate your burden for helping us all to be good neighbors and the online classes that I attended for several months were very helpful. Thanks for all you do. We are talking about how we could use some of this prize money to do something at Christmas for our neighbors. 

From Republic, Missouri: I’m still annoyed that we got code enforcement called on us last summer because our yard was a bit high. We ended up being ticketed for tall grass. Had the neighbor who complained asked, I would have been happy to mention that I couldn’t mow because I was very pregnant and dealing with complications, and my husband was working a second-shift job that left him with very little time to repair our broken mower and use it during the daylight. It has caused me to evaluate how I think about other people and how I relate to my own neighbors. If I had known my neighbors, and they had known my situation, I would like to think that one of them would have helped with our yard and our neighbor relationship would have been strengthened instead.

Happy neighboring.

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Does this article make you interested in taking the Engaged Neighbor pledge? Five categories and 20 principles to guide you toward becoming an engaged neighbor. Sign the pledge online at http://engagedneighbor.com.

Contact the blog author, David L. Burton at dburton541@yahoo.com.