Theme: The People in your Neighborhood.

Verse: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:39)

It’s been quite a couple of weeks in Florida. In case you were on a trip to Antarctica or something like that, we’ve had a couple of hurricanes blow through the Tampa area. The recovery from Helene and Milton is on-going as I write this. Hundreds of thousands of homes are still without power and thousands have big recovery efforts in front of them.

But in my microcosm of the world, the hurricane aftermath revealed something about the human spirit that inspired this missive.

On Thursday morning, I woke to see what Milton had brought. As the sun rose, people emerged from their homes and began cleaning their yards. But soon I noticed something. After cleaning their own yards some of my neighbors went to the next house and cleaned that lawn as well because they knew the family had evacuated, or the residents were elderly or infirmed. As the phenomenon of “doing of little extra” became evident, it became the norm. Dozens of families were going the extra mile. It became almost a competition between the sides of the street. Who could get their side done faster?

In about 5 hours, the neighborhood looked like nothing had happened (but for the bags of debris neatly piled by the curb). The road and sidewalks were clear! I know it wasn’t the biggest of deals in the recovery effort, but it was inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors rake debris, cut limbs, sweep paths, and get life back to some sort of normalcy.

That’s all being a neighbor is. Giving a little extra when you are able. Show some kindness to your fellow man. That’s what God asks of us is to “Love our Neighbor as Ourselves. (Matthew 22:39)”

My salute to the Remington neighborhood in Lake St. Charles, Riverview, FL. You may not have known it, but you were putting God’s Love on display by exemplifying what being a neighbor is all about.

Have a GREAT week!