Is it so wrong to pray for nice neighbors? We have two houses across the street from us that are on the market. One is for sale. The other is for rent. The families that have lived there are nice. But they have had older teenage kids that don't come out to play. So I have been praying for nice neighbors to move into those homes - preferably ones with nice little kids.
Last week when I picked up my babysitter she told me she was fasting and praying for a nice family with a cute 17 year old son to move in across the street from her. I told her while she was at it she may as well include a 15 year old (she is 15) girl in her "wish list" family who would turn out to be her best friend. Most of her friends have moved and live 10-15 minutes away now. No harm in hoping right?
When I was a kid my parents bought some land with friends and built a cul-de-sac. I knew all my neighbors so well I called them all "Aunt" and "Uncle" even though they weren't really family. I have often fantasized about doing this myself someday. I think about what kind of neighbors I would choose in my ideal cul-de-sac. I don't think of specific people. And I assume I would only pick people in this dream universe that I really liked. Mostly I think about practical things like talents and professions. On my street growing up we all shared our talents. It was very handy knowing my doctor and dentist so well.
So far in my dream cul-de-sac there would be a doctor, a dentist, an orthodontist, a hair dresser or two, someone who knows how to build or fix things in a home (maybe a contractor), and a car mechanic would be good too. Maybe a caterer would be nice as well. You know what -- now that I am thinking about it. I have most of those in my neighborhood right now. I do have a pretty super neighborhood. Know any nice contractors looking for a good home? I have one available across the street. :)
Who would be in your dream cul-de-sac?
16 comments:
My husband graduates in July with his degree in construction management! Find us a job, and we will fill the home across the street :) He also loves helping others with their home renovation projects ;)
We have a GP, a doctor's receptionist who will always collect prescriptions, a teacher, a teaching assistant, 2 guys who work for the power company, two police officers, a physio who is also chair of the PTA, the chair of the parish council, 2 Guiding (like Girl Scouts) leaders, a childminder, and we used to have the local MP (like a congressman) and assistant pre-school manager. So I like it right here!
When our next door neighbor moved, I felt prompted to pray for a family with children to move in. I thought about praying as a family for this. My oldest was 4 at the time. I didn't act on it because I lacked faith and was afraid my daughter would be disappointed if it didn't all work out.
A wonderful family with 2 girls right between the ages of mine moved in and our street has been such a fun, peaceful, safe place for all the kids to ride bikes, fly kites, push dolls in baby strollers etc. How I grieved and repented for not acting on that prompting. What a faith bulding experience that would have been for my family.
I would pray for a neighborhood where other parents came out to play with their kids so I wasn't the only parent watching all the neighborhood kids. ;)
We've prayed for good neighbors, as we moved around, and were blessed. It is most certainly a "righteous desire".
Love thy Neighbour- I think the babysitter was going for this commandment!!!
We live in a very small town with small towns on both sides of us. All of the towns go to Middle School & High School together and make up one stake. We are all "Neighbors" in a sense and it is wonderful to know everyone! If you need a Dr. in the middle of the night you just call him @ home same with the dentist. Everyone is so willing to help!! We know all of our childrens school teachers on a "friend" basis and often they are in our ward (last year my daughters primary teacher was also her school teacher) It is great to have wonderful neighbors!! I hope your prayers are answered!
I like living with mixed generations. Some older folks, families with young kids and families with kids of babysitting age. The retirees and young parents are home during the day to watch the neighborhood. The parents of older kids know what we're all going through.
We live next door to my husband's brother. His wife and I are the best of friends and their 3 youngest kids are within weeks of the ages of my 3 kids. There is a hole in the fence in the backyard that the kids can run back and forth between yards. There are 8 cousins between the 2 houses. I love having family as neighbors!
How about a computer guy? :-)'
this is a great post stephanie, we have 4 of the 8 houses for sale on our cul de sac right now and we have been considering moving ourselves for about a year, but we would be house #5 on the market. There are maybe 1 or 2 neighbors that are friendly, the rest, I am glad they are moving...maybe I should be praying for a nice family to move in with young kids...since we haven't had ANY for 4 years!
Who doesn't dream about a planned community where the neighbors are hand picked?! We joked about this with all our law school pals. Too bad when we graduated we were scattered across the land. We liked to think that in 3-5 years after graduation, after we had experience and such, we'd all pick a place and move there. Three years later....i don't think thats going to happen. :(
We moved into this culd-e-sac in Nov of 2008. I love it. There are kids in almost every house my children's ages. Much like you, we have new neighbors coming in on both sides of us. The empty lot on the left is set to build any day, and the house on the right has just gone on the market. I am praying for good neighbors, too! Honestly, there are enough "little" kids now for my kiddos, so I'm hoping for a couple of new besties for myself! :)
When we bought our house 12 years ago, we soon found out that our next door neighbor has 5 sons and one daughter who is 9 months older than our twin daughters. I've often wondered if we were an answer to Anna's prayers (and if she was praying for a girl her age to move in and got two, what a bonus that was). Those three girls have been inseperable since day one and they're all in high school now.
I live in a small city in NC and when we first bought our house the two homes infront of us were on the market. I prayed and prayed for a teenage daughter for my teenage daughter, a good family.
Not only did we get a teenage daughter for mine, a younger brother for my younger son, a young man needing help from my husband for his eagle project and...........
they belong to our ward!
Prayer works!
Hi Stephanie-
Just wondering where you live and what you know about the houses for rent on your street. We are moving back to NV this summer and are hoping to rent for a little while before buying a house. You can email me at julie_hanson22@yahoo.com.
thanks,
julie (earl) hanson
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