Part One: Hard Neighbors

“Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:17-18

We all want good neighbors, but sometimes God spices up our lives with hard neighbors.

We have great neighbors on either side of us, and recently we’ve had a young family move in across the street. We didn’t know what to expect from them but had prayed that God would bring in a good family to round out our peaceful area.

Instead, God gave us a family that is quite loud. The Dad loves anything with a motor. If he’s outside, he’s revving up something: a leaf blower, an edger, a chainsaw, a power washer, a lawnmower, etc.

His favorite motor is attached to a minibike which he revs loudly as he races up and down the street and all through the neighborhood. (Dear Reader, Did I mention that we like things quiet around here? Maybe you didn’t hear me over the high-revving motor which is happening as I write this.)

Anyway, I finally had a chance to meet him. A tall, burly young man with a wife and four-year-old daughter. He does more talking than listening, and it’s usually about the things (toys) he’s accumulated as owner of a septic company.

One of those toys is a drone that he flies up and down the street…it’s equipped with a high-definition camera and controlled by an app on his phone. He can sit in his house and fly the drone all over the neighborhood.

Let me state that I don’t have a problem with toys, I have a few myself.

However, one night I was working hard to chop and dig out a tree stump at the corner of our house and heard a noise. I looked around to find the whirring sound and finally looked up…this neighbor’s drone was twenty feet above me…hovering and filming!

I got mad…I worked hard all day and came home to dig in the mud for two hours, and this is what I have to put up with? On top of that, having to listen to him race up and down our quiet street on that annoying minibike? I want to shoot that drone, but I don’t want to get arrested…

All of this was thought as I stared up at that obnoxious little drone humming above me on my own property. (The last thought was the old Eric rearing his ugly head.)

Ever been frustrated like that by a hard neighbor? Well, when God throws curveballs, He also trains us how to hit them…more to follow.