Day 48 - A Needy Neighbor

While working in the front yard today, a neighbor drove up and stopped to talk. She's elderly. We don't see her and her husband very often. They stay inside a lot. I'm not as active as I should be in getting to know our neighbors and reaching out to them. Looking over to the for-sale sign in our yard, she asked in a disappointed voice if we were moving. I told her we were considering a missionary call to India. That got us going on a conversation. I asked how she and her husband were doing. She said they weren't doing very well and were considering selling their house, too, because they need to move into assisted living. She was sad because they don't really have any family around to look after them. She said she talked to someone at one of the nearby assisted living centers, and they told her she probably couldn't afford it at this point. Said she's still probably going to live another 20 years. She didn't think she'd live that long, though, because most of her family died in their 70s or earlier.

I asked her gently if she were ready for her time whenever it may come and if she knew what her eternal destiny would be. She said she thought she would go to heaven because she had asked forgiveness for her sins. "Is that right," she asked, with a tone of voice that really conveyed how serious she was about making sure she was right about her eternal destiny. I had the joy of explaining to her the gospel as she listened attentively. We concluded that she was trusting in Jesus Christ alone and indeed repented of her sins.

She was a bit concerned that they couldn't get out and go to church like they would prefer, but she said her husband reads his bible and they like to watch Dr. Charles Stanley on TV. I encouraged her that those spiritual disciplines were key to following Jesus in their circumstances. They were in God's word and that's what Jesus said to do in order to follow Him (John 8:31-32).

I asked her if there was anything we as a family could do to help her and her husband. "Just check on us from time to time and see how we're doing," she pleaded. They didn't have anyone to look after them and want someone to keep in touch with them. That touched my heart. I was so convicted about my failure to get out of my comfort zone and check on my closest neighbors. Some neighbors may not care that we reach out to them, but she definitely would have been blessed by it had we been more outgoing.

The Lord taught me a very important lesson with this witnessing encountering--be a good neighbor. Check on people. Don't take things for granted. Care enough to ask about how people are really doing.