I recently began friendships with neighbors whom I'd only occasional waved at for years...and years. Recurring disturbance on our street caused us to cooperate (in calling cops) then to call a few meetings among ourselves.
The disturbance has largely since subsided. But one neighbor, retired from the landscaping business, just yesterday tractored over a free load of topsoil for my yard—about two weeks after I told him I was in the market. Last week another neighbor who's an auto mechanic beckoned me over while he mowed his yard to refer me to his friend for auto body work I'd told him I needed.
It finally came home to me how impoverished I'd made my own life by being unduly solitary and stand-offish toward people who live only a stone's throw away. Been seeing these guys and their wives for years; all of a sudden we're neighbors—just because we started acting like it. I'm eager to somehow be a blessing in their lives now.
I recently began friendships with neighbors whom I'd only occasional waved at for years...and years. Recurring disturbance on our street caused us to cooperate (in calling cops) then to call a few meetings among ourselves.
The disturbance has largely since subsided. But one neighbor, retired from the landscaping business, just yesterday tractored over a free load of topsoil for my yard—about two weeks after I told him I was in the market. Last week another neighbor who's an auto mechanic beckoned me over while he mowed his yard to refer me to his friend for auto body work I'd told him I needed.
It finally came home to me how impoverished I'd made my own life by being unduly solitary and stand-offish toward people who live only a stone's throw away. Been seeing these guys and their wives for years; all of a sudden we're neighbors—just because we started acting like it. I'm eager to somehow be a blessing in their lives now.