Like a Good Neighbor . . .

There is a well known insurance company that advertises their neighborly business model.  They claim that like a good neighbor, they are there when you need them.  However, I think it is mostly hype.  It has been my experience that they were NOT there when I needed them.  The incident occurred many years ago in Athens, Georgia.  We needed help.  They provided none.

This blog post is not about what happened.  Someday, I may write about that.  This post is about neighborliness.  Seven of us were stuck in Athens one Saturday night because of a car problem.  A BIG car problem.   We didn’t know what to do.  We didn’t know how to get home to Duluth.  There were no rental car places open.  A taxi ride from Athens to Duluth would be crazy.  We called our insurance company.  They basically said, “There is nothing we can do right now.  Have your car towed to the nearest facility and call us in the morning.”

Our insurance company was not “there” when we needed them, but fortunately for us, someone else was.  Someone else who had attended the same event heard of our predicament, and stepped up.  “We’re going in that same general direction you need to go,” they said.  “We have a big vehicle that can carry you all.  We’ll take you home.”  So they did.   It was out of their way a bit, but they took all seven of us home, squished in an old SUV.  I was so grateful.   The next day, we ordered a gift to be sent to them.

I have never seen or heard from them since that night.  I don’t remember their name.  I don’t remember where they lived.  I don’t know anything about them, other than the fact that when I needed it most, they were there.   They were, and always will be to me, a good neighbor.

 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”    
 He said to him, “What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?”    
 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.’”
 And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”    
 But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”    
            – Luke 10:25-29   Check out the whole story in Luke 10:25-37