Give It Today

Proverbs 3:28 (ESV) Do not say to your neighbor, "Go, and come again, tomorrow I will give it"--when you have it with you.

I am notorious for borrowing eggs from my neighbor.  Usually I am in the middle of a cake recipe, when I pull open the fridge door and to my horror of horrors...find an empty egg carton!


What do you do?  Of course, you run to your sweet neighbor and beg for an egg.  She has always been home when I come over, and graciously throws open the door to invite me in while she rummages through her refrigerator to save my day.  I don't know what I would do without my helpful neighbors.  I'm not joking around either!

They always know when something isn't right at our house.  Like the time when our two dogs that are always inside the fence happily playing in our back yard, were seen rolling their newly bathed bodies through the cow leftovers in the pasture next to our house.  When the dogs were done with that, they decided to wade through the sinking pond.  All the while, I'm inside doing laundry oblivious to the whole affair, until I get a phone call from my neighbors informing me of the jail break.  I immediately rounded up the escapees and shifted from laundry to dog bathing.  Oh bother.

This is the sort of thing that is so inspiring to me.  It's such a community builder when people look out for one another in these little everyday ways.  When individuals take the time and effort to really know what is normal and what is a little out of place in each other's lives, it can make a huge impact on society as a whole.
One time our neighbors even had us over for dinner!  Shocking in today's hurried world.  They didn't even want anything from us, just our presence at their table!  It was an amazing spaghetti dinner...I remember it like it was yesterday, because it meant so much to us.  She even bakes us a loaf of banana bread each Christmas.  We enjoy it every Christmas morning.  It has become a tradition with our family.  What an impact a neighbor can make.

Today's verse makes me so appreciative of my neighbors.  I am very blessed.  I am praying God's blessing and favor on my neighbors today....all of them.  I am also asking for a heart that is more open to giving what I have to give....today...not tomorrow!