The Good Neighbor

Early last spring, we decided to buy a cottage on the lake at North Webster where my family had vacationed for years. This was a dream come true. Some of my best memories as a child took place on that lake. I loved the thought of providing my children with the same experience.

It’s important to get along with your neighbors on the lake, because you are in such close quarters near the water. We have been blessed with some of the best neighbors on the lake. Everyone is so helpful and fun. We truly lucked out.

There is one neighbor that stands out above the rest. His name is Steve.

Steve is so beloved by the people in North Webster that I’m guessing he holds the record for having neighbors’ spare keys in the entire county. He had a spare key to our place before we ever even moved in. Instead of asking for it back, we figured he had earned it so why take it away. That would be rude, so Steve has a key to our place.

The best day of the year rolled around a couple weeks ago. You know the best day of the year; don’t you? Of course, you do. It’s the day the boat goes into the water for the first time. I’m even smiling just writing that sentence. I love opening day.

Since I can’t drive the boat and the car at the same time, I decided to recruit Steve, the neighborhood helper. This should have been a 15-minute task. We just take the boat to the ramp and put it in the water. One guy drives the boat while the other drives the trailer back. Simple. There was just one problem on this day. Apparently speed boats don’t get very far with a dead battery.

I’ll spare you the details of what went down. I’m sure you can imagine the amount of effort it takes to drive a boat into town and change 2 batteries, but it’s kind of like when you were a kid waiting on your mom to stop talking to everyone at church after the service. You think you will be at home and in your play clothes within 20 minutes, but you find yourself sitting in the pew with the clip-on tie over an hour later. Then, you remember that Chick-Fil-a is closed on Sunday’s. That stings. All in all, the event took over 2 hours, and I was apologetic and grateful to Steve; he never complained. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the whole process.

I decided that I wanted to buy a little gift for Steve, since he spent all that time helping me. Later that evening, I dropped off a bottle of wine and told him how thankful I was for his willingness to help. He graciously accepted the gift, but what he said next, I will never forget. He said, “Remington, I appreciate the gift, but please know that you don’t have to get me something or return the favor every time I help you. I literally pray every morning asking God to send me someone that I can help that day. When you asked me to help you with your boat this morning, you were literally an answer to prayer.”

I couldn’t help but tear up a little at that response. What a perspective that man has on life and his role in the lives of his neighbors. Often times, in the business world we define success by stats, promotions and trophies. However, it’s little moments like this that remind me where to find fulfillment and to fill a void that the next sale could never fill.