One thing loving our neighbor means is watching out for the other guy. It doesn’t have to be as dramatic as the Good Samaritan stopping to tend an injured man’s wounds. It can be as simple and significant as making a phone call.
I was sitting on my couch on one of those tired mornings when my phone was more interesting than doing chores. I’d left the gate open, sure the mares would stay in the pasture.
I’d come in the house to use the bathroom and sat down to read some Facebook. The phone rang. “Dad wanted me to let you know your horses are out in the hayfield,” my neighbor Kenny said. By the time I opened the door, they were trotting up our quiet road towards a busy highway.
Visions of dead horses, dead people, lawsuits flashed through my head. I grabbed the lead ropes and jumped in the car and drove fast. I sighed when I found Morgen and Tessie peacefully grazing by the side of our quiet road. I stopped the car, put the flashers on, caught them and led them home. I latched the gate.
If you see something amiss like horses or cattle outside their pasture, or smoke drifting out of the house, or strange cars in someone’s driveway, don’t hesitate to check with them to make sure everything is all right.
I’m Katie Andraski, and that’s my perspective.
