MY NEW NEIGHBORS

MY NEW NEIGHBORS

If you have ever lived in an apartment building or multi-family dwelling you will appreciate what I am going to share with you.    I live in a 17-story condominium where many owners sublet their apartments.   I have lived here since 1980 as a renter until I purchased my unit in 2000.   Living here so long you can imagine I have had a variety of neighbors on all four sides, as well as across the hall.   I don't know how other buildings are constructed but this building was built in the mid 60's and  sound carries easily through walls, floors and hallways.  

Several weeks ago the couple who was renting the apartment across the hall moved out.   They told me the owners, a young couple from Bulgaria, wanted to rent it to a friend who just returned from their homeland and was in dire need of a place to live.    Nothing unusual there!!!   The following weekend all hell broke loose.  The sounds of young children screaming, yelling, arguing and running all over the apartment was impossible to ignore.   It was so loud that it sounded as if they were living in my apartment!!   What to do?    I tried to ignore it for three days until I called the front desk  to report the disturbance.   It was so unsettling that I could not think, eat, watch television or read, and more importantly I could not read Scripture.    Finally I called the resident manager in tears explaining that she needed to understand and to hear what I was hearing.  From my front door I held up the phone for a couple of minutes and she listened....and her response was just what I expected.  She was aghast at the decibel of the noise and promised to speak to the new resident.   She did but with little change in the intensity of the noise.

After a week I was so distraught  I decided I would speak to my neighbors myself.    I knocked on their door and a nanny answered...with two adorable little boys behind her.  They were five and seven years old.  Only the seven year old spoke English.   We introduced ourselves.....He is Alex, his little brother Jordan.......I asked him if they knew how to speak quietly and keep their voices down, as their loudness was not good for my health, explaining that I was getting headaches from their constant noise.   They were so apologetic and so cute.....and as we were talking their Mom came down the hall, arriving home from work.    I explained to her what the problem was and that I truly hoped we could find a way to live compatibly.   She admitted that with two little boys it was not easy to calm them down but she would do her best, though it might take time.   We hugged, kissed and shook hands...little Alex extending his hand for me to shake.   I could feel the Lord working in this situation and felt that there would be an improvement, if not right away, in the near future. 

The next day I was at the store and decided to buy some little toys for the boys.   Their apartment was so quiet for two days I thought they were out of town.  Finally hearing their Mom come home one night I knocked and offered the toys.   She invited me in
and we sat and shared a glass of wine while the boys dressed up in their Halloween costumes to show them off.     We had a lovely hour long visit and I learned much about her circumstances.   She is a single Mom with two boys and needed a nanny so that she could work all day, and that she had registered the boys in school so they would not be home during the day.   When I heard her story and how she was struggling it truly touched my heart.   Did I tell you how cute the children are?  They are really the most adorable and well mannered boys......just rambunctious.  

The following week I came home from church where we hold a fellowship supper and bible study.   Normally I never take home any leftovers but this particular night there was a ton of chicken  left so I piled a plate to eat the next day.   As I was walking down my hallway the Lord told me to knock on their door and offer the chicken.   She invited me in, ecstatic that they would now have chicken for dinner with their potatoes!!!!!   Now I really understood their struggle!   Her circumstances are so difficult that she had to let the nanny go and bring her mother from Bulgaria to live with them.   Four people in a one bedroom apartment.    My heart is seriously moved by their situation.   Today I dropped off a basket of fruit I was given at Walter Reed last night at a Christmas party.   You would think I gave them a ten course meal!   The grandmother insisted on giving me candy in return for the fruit.

This entire chain of events has opened my eyes to how the Lord wants us to reach out to those less fortunate and to be kind to our neighbors.   I have been blessed with new friends and two little boys who have helped me to become more patient.   As a family they have made great strides in adapting to their new lifestyle.    I am so thankful that  I heard the Lord speaking to me.  So often I pray and ask Him to use me for His glory....and I wonder how many opportunities I have missed.   In this season of giving and sharing this is a reminder to all of us that even small gestures might be appreciated in a way we may never truly realize and that it might be as close as our neighbors right next door.