A verse in 1 Corinthians says, “Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor” (10:24 ESV).
Can you imagine what that would look like played out in your neighborhood?
We didn’t have to imagine.
We had Doug.
Doug was better than Mr. Rogers. He wasn’t a faraway TV star. He was our star. He always was looking out for the good of his neighbors…and that included us.
Then, on January 12th, just two sad weeks ago, Jesus called Doug home quite unexpectedly. He was only 67. Today, he has a new address, new neighbors…and a new, healthy heart (if he even needs that in Heaven).
So I’d like to share part of a tribute I wrote for his shocked and grieving family, our dear friends. I hope it gives you a glimpse into the life of a good neighbor.
We’ve a Neighbor Through the Woods
Sometimes a heartless winter gale spews ice across our woods, wreaking havoc with our graceful trees, snapping brittle power lines along our road. We shiver in the dark—no phone, no water—buried in ten quilts piled up to our eyelids. We wonder if the utility company is even aware of our plight.
But we’ve a neighbor through the woods.
It’s late at night and I’m alone, yawning. I keep the lights on as I struggle to fall asleep. Even the shows on TV are tired. Kenny’s driving, gone for days. Once again, the ghosts and goblins are dancing on my roof. I shudder and my heart pounds as I clutch the phone beneath my pillow.
Thankfully, we’ve a neighbor through the woods.
We’re rudely awakened by its unnerving and shrill screaming in the dead of night, a warning cry which disrupts the peaceful night. Our burglar alarm is blaring. Is someone breaking in? Is there a fire? Kenny grabs his trusty baseball bat. Whether we are home or whether we’re not…
We’ve a neighbor through the woods.
I rush into the kitchen, nearly late for a dentist appointment. The car is still running, ready to speed off to Bridgeton, and I need the check book. But something—a noise?—stops me in my hasty tracks. A sudden and frightening chill races down my spine. Why are the drawers and cupboards half-open? I peek into the living room and see jagged pieces of my French door frame scattered across the hardwood floor. Someone has broken into our safe and cozy home! And are they still here? Panicking, hardly able to breathe, I run.
We’ve a neighbor through the woods.
When the springtime sun is smiling, basking lazily in a sea of brilliant blue, the robins and chickadees call me outside to play. I smile too. On my back step, there’s a flat or two of lovely flowers just waiting to be planted along my sidewalk.
We’ve a neighbor through the woods.
Humming to myself, fancying myself a gourmet chef, I am concocting a new recipe for dinner. Company is on its way and I need to get this dish in the oven right now…and clumsily drop the last egg I need to finish it all up. Do I run to Anderson’s or Ternay’s and pay $5 for a dozen? Do I forget the last egg and hope for the best?
We’ve a neighbor through the woods.
I see Kenny backing his truck up the driveway, home from a tiresome day of deliveries. A half hour goes by before I hear him wiping his feet and sliding off his work books as he pushes through the back door.
We’ve a neighbor through the woods.
I don’t worry about my house when we go away for vacation.
I don’t have an operation, a serious illness, or a terrible loss without a card, a visit and a meal.
I don’t have disgusting trash cluttering the road in front of my house after the days the dump is open.
I don’t have to wonder who will send me the first Christmas card of the season.
I don’t suffer death and bereavement alone.
I don’t celebrate joy and happy events alone.
I don’t have a birthday that I don’t have a sweet, unstamped card in my mailbox.
I don’t chase burglars by myself.
I don’t have to wonder what’s going on with an old classmate or what’s happening in our little community.
I don’t wonder who I can ask for a ride or a favor.
I don’t wrestle with who we can share our troubles with, who we can ask to pray for us.
I don’t feel afraid or isolated or forgotten.
We’ve a neighbor through the woods.
And he is a gentle, thoughtful, funny, friendly and sweet giant of a man who doesn’t know a stranger and would give anyone whatever he had.
It was always a beautiful day in OUR neighborhood, not because of Fred Rogers, but because Doug Paten lived through the woods.
So thankful we still have Alice.
We still have a selfless neighbor through the woods.
And now it’s our turn to intentionally be the same. We’ve some big shoes to fill…
But throughout the Bible, God commands us to love our neighbors, to deal honestly and uprightly with them, and to consider their needs above our own. If we’re truthful with ourselves, our hearts and heads know it’s right to be a good neighbor; we just need to do it. It is a decision we must make. We choose to invest ourselves in those God has placed around us. It can be difficult, messy, costly, exhausting—and very rewarding—to put others first. It takes being present in their lives and being willing to listen, love, encourage, and help. It’s the way Jesus lived here on earth, surrounded by people of all kinds, loving them, meeting their felt needs, offering them an eternal relationship with the Father. It’s the way He wants us to live now.
That kind of neighborly love and kindness is contagious and transforming. It could even change the world.
It changed our neighborhood.
Wouldn’t you like it to change yours?
You can be that selfless neighbor through the woods—even in the city!
—Eileen Hill
