Love Thy Neighbor

 

So this topic is fresh in my mind today, because sometimes neighbors take other neighbors for granted and it gets hard to love them all the time.

For months, I've noticed the landscaping in the front of my home is being desecrated by one or more dogs. I don't mind them using it after they drank too much water, but for them to leave their waste is just disgusting. At first, I was trying to be the nice neighbor and just disgustingly pick it up and throw it in my trash can. I didn't like doing that, because no matter how well you try to wrap it up, the stench is horrible. In this particular residence, dogs are not permitted, so to have my trash can smell like I have a pet is just not right. So after months of picking up other neighbor's dogs waste product and as I see them getting more frequent, I decided to be proactive. I ordered some signs that nicely ask the dog owners to please pick up after your dog -- complete with illustration. This worked for two weeks. It was nice to open my front door and not get the fragrance of dog mess anymore. But today, there was that familiar smell again and I noticed that there wasn't only one, but two piles on the nicely landscaped bark. So instead of doing the usual ritual of picking up the messes and putting it in my trash can, I took it off my bark and set it on the asphalt in front of the bark in hopes that my neighbor would recognize their dog feces and pick it up (a bit passive aggressive). I'll check on it tomorrow. But in my desperation, I contacted the owners of the home being rented and asked if they ever had this problem. They informed me they hadn't, but they have connections and investigated. Now I have a watchful neighbor who knows the culprits and will be patrolling said area in front of the house. I know this particular neighbor loves me and has extended his assistance to me numerous times as he knows I am the one who does all the heavy lifting, etc. in the home.

As a child, we had a neighbor who randomly would just come over to our house and put her face up against our windows and look in our rooms. That was a bit terrifying. I would let my Mom know, but it kept happening. I was glad when we finally moved.

When I was a senior in high school, I always felt like even though my curtains were closed that someone was watching me. Then I started hearing noises outside the same window. When I looked toward the window, the noise would stop. There were times when I thought of just throwing the curtain open, but then would talk myself out of that because if I did that, there might be a face there and I would have a heart attack. So one day, I was sitting in the living room where there was a big pane glass window and again, I felt that stare. As I looked up, I saw someone run behind one of the trees in our front yard. I ran to tell my parents and my Dad ran to look to see if he saw someone and he didn't. One night in my room, I heard the familiar sounds outside my window, but then I heard a foot drag. Again I told my parents, they thought I was imagining it. This went on for quite awhile. One day I heard a lot of noise and then the back gate to our property open and close. The next morning, my Dad investigated and saw that the screen on my window had been taken off and the backyard gate had in fact been left opened. Fast forward to a few weeks later. My Mom and I were bike riding in the neighborhood. I saw a young boy walking and as we got near him, his foot drug on the ground. My Mom saw me turn pale. I told her I thought that must be the boy who was looking in my window. After time, my parents investigated and got other neighbors involved. The girl across the street had a similar incident, but they had caught the guy doing it and my parents told me they thought it was who I thought it was. So I had a peeping Tom neighbor. That was terrifying.

In our house in Los Banos, we had this guy who thought it was okay to park a huge trailer and truck in the front of our house that was filthy and he never moved it. It obstructed our view and was just ugly to look at. We live in a very nice tract home neighborhood. I had to read ordinances on that one and finally, I did a complaint and it got moved. My point is that some neighbors can be really inconsiderate and it makes it hard to love them.

Recently in an apartment I lived in for a short time, one of my neighbors side swiped my brand new car and caused $15,000 worth of damage. Luckily for me I have excellent insurance. It was quite obvious which neighbor hit me as her car had damage to it, but because it was "not witnessed", and if it was, no one wanted to come forward, I had to pay the deductible and nothing was ever done, even after getting a police report and footage to a surveillance camera from our apartment management. (Long sentence I know.) That was a very difficult situation, but when I saw her, I would wave and smile. I guess I was hoping her guilt would break her down, but it didn't. We soon moved after that incident.

For the most part, I have had wonderful neighbors where we helped each other out and those neighbors were easy to love. So where do we draw the line. Do I still have to love the neighbors who aren't very neighborly? I try. It is hard. Sometimes I really have to work at getting my friendly smile on. I'm just being honest.

I have finally learned from a good friend of mine to just walk away and kick off the dust. In the Bible it is clear, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39  Also, Matthew 5:44 "But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.