BBQ and Love

"love your neighbor as yourself"

Luke 10:27

Yesterday someone did something nice for me.  A rather unusual sort of something nice.  Not the kind of thing that happens every day. 

My family had gone to spend Labor Day with some relatives.  BBQ and swimming ~ you probably know the deal.  It was quite a ways away from us; it took us about an hour and 15 minutes to get there.  And it was at least 100˚.  Maybe more.  But we carpooled with my folks, food was great, and the kids got to swim, so that was all good.  And it was fun chatting with some extended relatives I don't get to see that often. 

Well, the unusual nice thing was something my uncle and aunt did.  My uncle works for a major grocery store 'round these parts.  And part of his job is making decisions on what the store is going to carry, so he is often given samples of new products ~ even if the "new" product is just an old product in a new size.  So he came with several boxes of groceries, from shampoo to coffee.  All of us were take home whatever we thought we'd use, or that we wanted to try.  I think we took three grocery bags, and my parents had a couple, too. 

As we drove home after the party, I thought how nice it was for my aunt and uncle to share with us.  It's probably more than they could use, but still it was thoughtful.   And then I started how many nice things had been done for me just in one day, and how many ways there are to be nice to people. 

My uncle standing in 100˚ heat, shaded though it was, barbequing burgers and hot dogs and salmon. 

People had brought drinks and salads and desserts.  People had prepared things and bought things so that others ~ like me ~ could enjoy them. 

The house belonged to my aunt's parents. (She's my aunt by marriage, so no, those aren't my grandparents!)  They opened up their home to all of us, providing some of the food, not to mention the pool, and the electricity needed to run the air-conditioning all day.

My mom and I were sitting in the middle seats, and my Amazing and Awesome kids were sitting in the third row.  It's a roomy enough car, until you get several bags of free groceries in there.  Plus we had the kids' wet bathing suits, and their towels.  So it was crowded.  But my kids kept insisting on taking stuff back with them, in order to make room for my mom and me.

My sweet hubby, the Apple of my Eye, did all the driving, both directions.  It's a selfless thing to be the driver, allowing everyone else to read and chat and maybe even doze. 

My parents were kind enough to give us some gas money, as the destination was far, and gas prices are crazy high...

So what exactly does it mean to love your neighbor?

Almost anything you can think of.

~ "Love the Lord your God

with all your heart, with all your soul,

with all your strength, and with all your mind,

and your neighbor as yourself" ~

Luke 10:27