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A Closer Walk

The Worst Neighbor

By Gina St. Cyr

We have the worst neighbor in our neighborhood. You’ll never guess who it is.

Our neighbors live alone with their two dogs. He works a blue-collar job and she works at a local superstore. They both work very long hours to make ends meet. While they are gone, they leave their dogs tied up in the front yard. So at 5 a.m. every morning, the dogs start to bark… and bark. By the end of the day, the dogs are hoarse from barking so much. A couple of times a year, they breed the dogs to raise some extra money. Then we can hear puppies barking all day long. They let their lawn go and it is full of weeds. They never talk to us. They don’t even wave hello when they are outside. Most of the time, they seem very stressed out.

I used to think, How can they live like that? Who could let their lawn go like that? Why do they even have dogs if they are gone so much? Then one day I was creating a Sunday School lesson plan on Leviticus 19:18: “Love your neighbor as yourself. I am the Lord.” I was going to have each student create a list of things they could do to show that they love their neighbors. Then the next week we could see how many of those things they accomplished.

I was going to set the example by doing the things I put on my list before class. I started to think about what I could put on my list, when the dogs started barking across the street. At first, I got mad because my children were taking their naps. Then a light bulb went off in my mind.

I realized that I am the worst neighbor. I have lived across the street from them for more than four years and I don’t even know their names. I gripe about them a lot—especially the dogs. I never talk to them or wave hello when I am outside either. I know I am supposed to love my neighbor, but sometimes that is really hard. I look down my nose at them for no good reason. They are doing everything they can just to pay their bills.

I started to help and love them by simply praying for them.

• I prayed they would find compassion and understanding for others. “Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble” (1 Peter 3:8).
• I prayed they would be able to forgive, not just me but from all who had hurt them. “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Matthew 6:14).
• I prayed they would find joy in life. “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11).
• Most of all, I prayed they would find God. “’Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men’” (Mark 1:17).

I sent a little card to them saying I was praying for them. A few days later, I baked some cookies with a note simply saying I am sorry for not being the best neighbor. I took them over there and learned their names. Turns out they didn’t know mine either.

Now that I have chatted with them, things seem to be improving. We are not best friends, but at least now we wave hello when we see each other. The dogs don’t seem to be barking as much. Maybe I just don’t notice it as often.

Slowly, I am seeing a change in myself. I am a bad neighbor who is trying to change her ways. And with God’s help, I can!

GINA ST. CYR is a substitute teacher and a Christian children's writer in Nebraska, where she lives with her husband and 3 young children. She enjoys reading, singing, acting on stage, dancing, and laughing with her children.