I’ve shared with you a few times how God had moved me into my current neighborhood. It was not just the house, but the neighbors, which I think may be the best part of where I call home.
I asked for prayers on behalf of my neighbor and his family, and God decided it was time for him to rest. God’s wisdom is better than ours. I want to take a moment and share about him.
He was a man of few words. So few, that when I moved in, I asked his son in law who lives close by if he didn’t like me. He laughed and said that was just him. But over the six years I’ve lived there, I’ve noticed some things: he was very kind to me; in his own way.
One year when my tomatoes didn’t grow, he asked if I wasn’t planting as I had a new area of land that had become available. I told him what happened, and he said “no worry about it. I’ll give you some”. True to his word, the next morning, there were a bunch of tomato sucklings wrapped in a bright pink cloth to keep the roots moist. When I saw it, I went out and started trying to plant them. Apparently the place had not been cleared enough, and he got to work, clearing and helping me to plant. When the trees grew heavy with fruit, I woke up one morning to a steel rod and twine holding up the branches. Not a word had been exchanged. He just did.
There was another time when I had a loose brick in my front garden. One day I got home and noticed fresh cement. It took me a while to notice what was different. He had seen it and just took care of it.
Whenever I would put out my recycle bin, I would get home and it would be in the spot where it belonged. Never a word exchanged. He just did.
My last distinct memory of him was a day or so before he got sick. I saw him across the street. I yelled out to him, addressing him by his name, and made a comment that he was always working. He laughed at my comment, and kept right at it. Only to hear a few days later that he was sick and then gone.
My friends, my heart hurts with yours, and I pray you are comforted during this difficult time. Matthew 5:4 states “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I pray you feel God’s comfort during this difficult time.
Your neighbor and friend,
Kaysi
