Who Are You? You Are My Neighbor.

You are the neighbors and the passersby who saw the smoke and called 911.  You are the ones who broke down the door to the garage to let the dog out and wheel away my wife's motorcycle.

You are the emergency crew that responded on June 15, 2010.  You are the firemen who managed the traffic, drove the trucks, ran the pumps, laid the hoses, rescued the photo albums, succumbed to smoke inhalation, worked hours to remove metal roofing to finally extinguish the fire in the sheathing, came as a second shift to relieve the exhausted crew, the on site chief and the men and women who manned the hoses.  You are the rescue workers who treated the firemen, provided water, ran for pizza and asked if we were all right.

You are the many folks in this community, at work and around the country who prayed for us.

You are the ones who were ready when I got home to comfort and offer help. You are our neighbor who took in our dog and cares for her until we find a home.  You are the ones who parked way down the street somewhere and made the hike to stand beside while we watched and waited. 

You are the folks who stopped by the next day for a quick greeting, a hug and a "I won't keep you, but we are thinking and praying for you".  You are the one who paid for my donut and coffee at Dunkin Donuts at the drive-through.  You are the motel folks who gave us a discount rate and moved our stuff to the room with the Jacuzzi. You are the folks who came the next several days in a professional capacity but were respectful and kind to us.  You are the service person who came and liked the shirt was given to me.  You are the man outside the store who didn't know me or my situation but we were able to share that Jesus Christ can change lives in our community.

You are the lady on the phone crying out for help.  You believe in God, but you are angry at Him.  You are the man who called on the phone so that we could cry together, not because of the fire, but because of the miracle of what God is doing in our lives. 

You are the one who organized the yard cleanup and the crew who came to do the work.  You are the young man who came by the next few days to standby for any little task that popped up.

You are the folks who gave cards and gifts to help us get by, including a man who does not know us at all, but works with someone in my extended family.

You are the many people in the community, our church, the fire company and at work who have insisted that we contact you for help, including a man I work with who lives in Tennessee and was ready to hop on a plane to come for the weekend and help. 

You are the folks who posted on facebook, words of encouragement.  You are the ones who have touched our lives unnoticed and will touch our lives in so many ways in the coming days and weeks.

Who are you??  You are our neighbors.

 
Luke 10:25And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”
²⁷ So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’ and ‘your neighbor as yourself.’”
²⁸ And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. ³¹ Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. ³² Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. ³³ But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. ³⁴ So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. ³⁵ On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’ ³⁶ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?”
³⁷ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:25-37, New King James Version)

The interesting thing about this parable by Jesus was the emphasis on the one providing mercy being the neighbor. 

Who are you?  You are the one who provided mercy.  You are our Neighbor.  And we thank you very much.  God bless you all.

According to the Grace of our God

On Tuesday, June 15, 2010 I drove home from work on my motorcycle.  As I got within a mile of the house the road was blocked by emergency fire crews.  I detoured up the street and around.  I thought I had cut around where ever the fire was, however as I rejoined the street I could see the column of smoke in front of me.  I was dismayed thinking it was one of my neighbors.  As I got closer their was another road block manned by one of the guys I knew from the fire company that I am a member of.  "Carl is that fire over there at my house?".   "I think so".  What  a shock.  I parked my motorcycle at a neighbors house and started to walk toward my house.  I was met by my oldest daughter in tears and I could see that the whole back of the house was on fire.  Smoke and fire were coming from the front section also.  I now realized that my life was going to be changed dramatically.

What did I feel?  First I thought of my wife, who I was told was on the way back from shopping for a dress to wear on Sunday, when our son gets married.  I worried about her driving and not knowing what was going on.  I prayed for her safety.  Then for about 5 minutes I was very sad, to think of the loss of the home we had invested our lives in for the past 23 years.

But then folks made it very clear that no one was home and the dog and cat were out and safe.  I looked around and saw my friends from the fire company doing their very best.  I saw neighbors greeting me and consoling me.  I was overwhelmed at the blessing that God had given to me.  In a very short time I came to accept what had happened.  It was stuff, my home was after all a building and my life consisted of so much more than this.  Would my wife feel the same?  Our house projects over the past several years were coming to a conclusion with a brand new kitchen under construction, according to the desires and design of my wife.

My wife drove up to the neighbors house that I was waiting at and then we walked down the street to see our house on fire.  She realized the extent of the loss.  She looked at me and I knew that she felt the same as I.   We shared with each other our perspective in light of the abundant blessings God has given to us.  We would be sad, but not devastated.  We would know loss, but we would also know the blessing of God as manifest through the folks that came to comfort us.  We would have a lot of challenges dealing with living arrangements, insurance, recovery, rebuilding and reshaping our lives.  But we would have opportunity to share and celebrate with others what God has done for us in Jesus Christ.

2 Thes. 1:12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It was a long night that night as the women and men for the fire departments worked exhaustively to put out the fire and retain our possessions.  That night many of my family, christian brothers and sisters, neighbors spent the night hugging and crying with us.  Many of them seemed more devastated then my wife and I.  Many who were praying for us at that moment were making it possible for the Holy Spirit of God to confort us.

I hope to share with you many of the little stories of things we experienced over the past several days that God has done for us.  Some things that touch the personal lives of others I can't share, but I want folks to know that God is working in very powerful ways even when we can't see it.

I will say this several times of the next several days.  My wife and I are fine.  We are not putting on a brave front, we are not in shock, we are not trying to be private or independent.  We have received very generous offers for help.  Maybe as the days go by and we understand our situation better we will be able to reach out and ask for help. 

For now we have a bed to sleep in, food to eat, clothing on our back and a weekend away to Illinois to spend time with family as my son gets married on Sunday to my future daughter-in-law.  Celebrate and be happy with us.