“Teach your children, “love your neighbor like your family”, but “not because it is a Christian thing to do, rather because it is a human thing to do.” Abhijit Naskar
For those of us who are fortunate enough to have grown up in families with both parents, sometimes we have a tendency to take that for granted. But what about those who didn’t? What about those individuals that grow up not knowing their mom or dad or what happened to them? Growing up with unresolved questions about your parentage has got to be a devastating experience. This weekend I was speaking with a friend who is in that very situation. It was her deceased mother’s birthday and she posted a beautiful tribute to her mother on Facebook. Every year she posts on her mother’s birthday but for some reason, this post was different. It was the first time that she had shared details on her how her mother passed and how she felt growing up not knowing her parents. Each year, I make it my mission to ALWAYS respond to her post by showing her some NEIGHBORLY LOVE. I remind her how much her mom and her grandparents truly LOVED her. So for this week’s blog, let’s talk SHIP about the need for us to reach out to others sharing with them some NEIGHBORLY LOVE!!!
This young lady despite the many tragedies and setbacks she encountered has blossomed into a beautiful, loving, positive, GOD-fearing woman. Her mother and her grandparents were my neighbors when I was growing up. While I was away in college, I remember getting a phone call informing me that she had been murdered. Immediately, my thoughts and prayers went to her baby and her parents. When her mom was murdered, she was about 2 or 3 years old, so she has little to no memories of her mom. After her mother passed, she lived with her maternal grandparents and I was privileged enough to watch her grow into a well-rounded young lady. Over the years, I gave her childhood photos of her mother and pictures of her and her mother when she was a baby. When she was about 14, her maternal grandmother passed away and she and her grandfather eventually moved but she stayed connected to our NEIGHBORLY LOVE and always visited. When her grandfather became ill a few years ago, she took great care of him until GOD called him home and the whole neighborhood attended his ceremony to support her with our NEIGHBORLY LOVE.
The daughter is now in her 40’s and a loving mother herself. Her post on her mother’s birthday showed growth, and although, she and I have never discussed her mother’s death, I wanted to. Her mother’s death occurred in 1981 and remains unsolved and I wanted to know if she had ever wondered what happened to her mother and she stated she had. She expressed that when she was a teenager, her grandparents were transparent and answered any questions she had regarding her mother and father but she always wanted to know more. Her grandfather, in an effort to protect her, discouraged her from probing further, and for all those years she respected his wishes. But now that he has passed away, she wants to find out what happened and I am going to show her some NEIGHBORLY LOVE and assist her to find the answers she is seeking.
Everyone deserves to know who their parents are and where they came from and if we can show some NEIGHBORLY LOVE by assisting, then we should. Romans 15:2, says “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up” which is the very definition of NEIGHBORLY LOVE. That’s why I believe with the help of GOD, and GOOGLE, we will find the answers to the questions that she has. NEIGHBORLY LOVE can heal and soothe all wounds.
SHIP TALK: Have you shown some NEIGHBORLY LOVE to someone else?
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