Neighborly Love

On Mother's Day in 2002, Mike, Abigail, Ethan, & I went to Alexandria Baptist Church in Alexandria, OH to surprise Mike's Mom. I was a new Mom myself at that time as Ethan was less than a month old. We were a two-kid family. WOW! I don't even remember those days.


Anyway, that Sunday they gave away a few prizes. A prize for the Mom who had the most children. A prize for the Mom who had the most children present in the service. A prize for the oldest Mom. A prize for the Mom who had the YOUNGEST baby. That would be me!! There was another baby that was one month older than Ethan so we barely got the prize.


The prize was a rose bush. We were really excited but at that time we weren't that into our yard and caring for plants and such. We went ahead and planted the rose bush on the west side of our house but didn't pay any attention to it and care for it as it needed. Each time it would get tall Mike would MOW IT OVER while he was cutting the grass. lol. We were crazy. (We even got rid of some hostas and other awesome plants for the flower beds when we moved in. NERDS!! But that's a story for another day.)


We were shocked each year that the rose bush kept growing and growing. How could that rose bush that we didn't care for and that we didn't water and we MOWED over keep growing??


One day I was in the boys' room and I saw the old man next door through the blind. I walked closer to the blind, barely moved the blind slits open so he wouldn't see me looking at him, and was shocked at what I saw. The old man next door was watering our rose bush through his fence. :) (You have to know how cranky this old man was to really understand the shock of it all. He called the police on us when we had only lived in our home 10 months... but that's also a story for another time.) Every time he watered his own flowers, which was VERY often, he was probably watering our rose bush.


After that we never mowed it over again and we actually started to be excited about how it was growing. Last year we had only a few roses but this year it is FULL of roses. :) I will never forget the story of our rose bush, the old man who cared for it, and the fact that he did it secretly without us knowing... or so he thought. ;)


Here are a few pics.

This rose bush is kind of like my life. Satan is the lawn mower constantly attacking me and trying to tear me down. Not wanting me to grow in the Lord. But my HOPE- Jesus is the old man next door watering my life and helping me to grow stronger and bare good fruit.