Last night we had very loud thunderstorms that rocked our home
It lasted about two hours
As I lay in my bed I thought of and prayed for many things
I prayed God's blessing on my neighbors
My neighbor behind our back fence
is a single mother - raising two young children
She always has a happy smile and a kind word
I wonder if she know what an encouragement she is
On the side to my left is a ten bedroom giant of a house
just two people live there and rattle around in it alone
Their children are gone - I wonder if they get lonesome
Their skin is not the color of mine
Across the street is a cape cod home with blue shutters
A young couple lives there with their children
They have loud parties sometimes that last all night
Often someone calls the police to them
In front of us across the street is a brick home
People of another color than me live there
They are quite and keep their lawn perfect
Their children are well behaved
Next to him Terry and his wife lives
I can call on him for any help any time day or night
He keeps a watch on the neighborhood and makes sure
everyone is okay
He says he is atheist - I pray for him always
Next to us on my right lives our Jewish neighbors
Our children grew up together and they are like family
We have been in and out of each others homes for many years
Many times over the years we went to their Temple
To a Bar Mitzvah celebration
A wedding and many other happy occasions
They in-turn came to our church - to our daughter's wedding
To many different events they visited in our church
They have been a source of great joy and love to us
Some of my neighbors have skin that is not the same color of ours
Some goes to a different church than we do
Some just don't go
As I lay in bed I ask God to bless each one of them
To bring each one into His light and His heaven
I thanked Him for them and the goodness they bring into my life
Our children learned a song in Sunday School when they were small
" Red or yellow - black or white, we are all precious in His site"
It does not matter the color of our skin
What matters is how we treat our fellow man
Jesus said the greatest command is to
"Love God with all of our heart, soul and mind
and our neighbor as ourself"
It is a choice we must make
It is easy to love our neighbors - when they are lovely
What about when they are unlovely
We still must love them and pray for them