Better a Neighbor Close by than a brother far away

    Last night on her way home from prayer meeting, my mother cell phoned us that she could not get into her drive way because her across the street neighbor’s house was on fire and all the fire fighting equipment was parked in her driveway and lawn.  We have about a foot of snow right now in South Eastern Massachusetts, so it’s illegal to park on the street.  So Mom came over to our house for tea and spice cake, spice cake complements of one of the ladies at church who had also been at prayer meeting.
    Mom’s next door neighbor phoned our house immediately to make sure that my Mom had a place to keep warm, and to let her know that the across the street lady would be sleeping at their house.  They saw that most of the fire trucks had packed up, so Mom drove back to try to get into her house.  No luck, so she came right back and slept on our futon.
    Mom had to open the office this morning, so she got up at 4:30AM to go back to her house to shower and eat breakfast, we haven’t heard back from her so I assume she could get into her driveway this morning.
    Mom’s burned out neighbor had just returned from visiting family in California.  The water heater caught fire when it re-started, and the fire crept up the inside of the walls.  She saw flames before she evacuated, so it was pretty involved.  This dear widow was about to host a gigantic Christmas reunion at her beautiful home next week, but now she can’t even visit  it until the fire assessor makes sure it’s safe.  Ugg. 
    When my Dad worked as a volunteer firefighter, he always said it was better than working as a cop: people listened better when you directed traffic with a fire ax than with a whistle and gloves; you could hate your enemy because it wasn’t a neighbor whom God wanted you to love, fire is  just a chemical reaction; and you actually helped people, not filed paperwork once their trouble was over.  But he also said that it was hard to see people you knew made homeless, even if it was temporary and they had good insurance.   
    Please pray for Mrs K, Mom’s burned out neighbor, today.