It's funny what love does. On a really simple level, I've been thinking about love, just in terms of my neighbors.
We had a next-door neighbor who, let's just say, I had issues with. Everything he did bothered me. Part of the trouble stemmed from the fact that he did idiotic things (like cut down some of my trees without asking, let his dog whine (not bark, but whine) all day, smoke in his side yard so the lovely odor (and cancer fumes) wafted into my master bedroom, seriously, the list goes on). But I know, most of the problem was I simply didn't like him. The new neighbors that moved in, when he lost his house in foreclosure, are delightful people. I also have known them for years. I like them a lot. The difference? I offered to pay to have the rest of the same row of trees removed so they can fit their motor home in the side yard, when their dog barks (which is rare), I find myself smile and playfully say the dog's name, and although they don't smoke, the occasional fumes of BBQ float over (which do make me a tad nauseous), but, once again, I smile and am happy they are enjoying their new large backyard.
I wonder what would have happened and how I would have felt if I had taken the time to get to know my old neighbor. Would those annoying things he did have bothered me as much?
"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs." Proverbs 10:12
