GOOD NEIGHBOR
Un Buen Vecino
by
Mary Hunt Webb
Posted Wednesday, August 31, 2016
Young children are accustomed to receiving attention from adults. [Photographer: Todor Todorov. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
As the youngest offspring in our family, I was often the recipient of affection and attention as a little girl. However, when I became a teenager, people became more distant and didn't always know how to respond to me.
The exception was our neighbor, Peggy Slater. Although she and her husband had three small children, she still spent time encouraging me and helping me in whatever way she could during my teen years. When I took a sewing class at school, Peggy showed me how to use her electric sewing machine. Then she left me alone to use it! She did not hover over me to make certain that I was using it properly.
Peggy never criticized me although she did express surprise at times at some of the things I said. More often than not, she listened.
As an active teenager, I was outdoors more often than Peggy was so that I was able to see when her children were in trouble. On one occasion, I caught her middle child, Steven, age four at the time, as he started to cross the street without adult supervision.
Like this little fellow, Steven was allowed outside by himself as long as he remained in his own yard. [Photographer: Heather Elaine Kitchen. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
I ran to him, took his hand, and took him to his mother, Peggy was thankful that I brought Steven back home. She seemed to appreciate my presence as her neighbor.
Back then, we didn't have the Internet where neighbors might post notices of happenings in their neighborhood. Instead, we actually talked face to face. We went to each other's homes and knocked on the doors. It reminds me that the Bible says,"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself." (Romans 14: 7 - New King James Version)
On another occasion, Peggy learned that our city's symphony orchestra was having a recording session in a location near us. She invited me to go with her to hear the musicians play while her husband took care of their children.
A shared taste in music often brings people together. [Photographer: Pixabay. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
I felt privileged that Peggy assumed that I would be as interested in attending and hearing the orchestra as she was. Her invitation made me feel more mature than I was since I was still in my teens. That event supported the appreciation of classical music that my mother was trying to instill in me. As a result, I continue to enjoy classical music today.
While I don't recall that Peggy ever quoted the Bible to me, she lived it through her kindness to me. She truly exemplified John 13:34-35, in which Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (New King James Version)
Although Peggy is gone from this earth now, she lives on through the example she set for me.
BIBLE VERSES FOR THIS POSTING
Romans 14: 7 — For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. (New King James Version)
Romanos 14:7 — Porque ninguno de nosotros vive para sí, y ninguno muere para sí. (Reina-Valera 1960)
John 13:34-35, — 34) A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (New King James Version)
Juan 13:34-35 — 34) Un mandamiento nuevo os doy: Que os améis unos a otros; como yo os he amado, que también os améis unos a otros. 35) En esto conocerán todos que sois mis discípulos, si tuviereis amor los unos con los otros. (Reina-Valera 1960)
Teenagers need attention and need to feel loved, just as young children do. [Photographer: Radina Grancharov. Photo courtesy of Stockvault.net.]
