So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you (Matthew 7:12).  

The Golden Rule.  We all grew up with our moms phrasing it in one form or another.

But it hit me today, that generally when we heard it ourselves or shared that advice with our own kids, it was a preemptive measure to keep us from doing something to someone else that we would regret.  More like, “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to yourself.”  I remember it being quoted in times of sibling rivalry, disagreements with friends, after being mistreated by a bully.   Most of the time it centered around withholding negative behavior for a positive result.

But I think we miss the majority of the meaning behind it when we look at it from that direction.  What if we truly DID do for and to others what we would want done to and for ourselves?  That encouraging phone call.  That unexpected meal.  A listening ear.  Undivided attention. A helping hand on a project.  All the things that aren’t generally necessary and yet are so much appreciated.

Jesus also put it this way  in John 13:34  – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

Love others like God loves us?  What does that look like?  How did Jesus practically love us while He was on earth?

1.  He did everyday life with people. He involved Himself in their world and lives.

2.  He offered help to those  who were sick or weak.

3.  He shared meals and celebrations with people.  He went to weddings and people’s homes to celebrate life with them.

4.  He loved on their children.

5.  He gave up His own personal time to touch people’s lives.

6.  Ultimately, He gave up everything He was and had for them.

My sweet little corn fed heroines…

See these ladies?  I call them my corn fed heroines.  Everyone should be so blessed as to have these kinds of ladies in their lives.  The blond, Chasity, is my neighbor.  The other two ladies are her mom and grandma who are visiting from Iowa.  They came to help Chasity out for a few days with her new baby, Ava.  That right there tells you that they have sweet giving hearts.

But they graciously extended those sweet hearts to me, as well, in very practical, real life ways.

Yesterday, at about three in the morning, my smoke detector began that horrid chirping sound followed by the words “low battery”.  It is ear piercing and repeats about every minute.

The problem was this.  I didn’t have a ladder long enough to reach the monitor that is attached to my 20 foot ceiling.  After trying to ignore the problem (not even close to possible and I felt my attitude turning into that of the Incredible Hulk as the day went on), I finally called Chasity to ask if she had a ladder that would work.  She did.  So I went over to grab it and bring it back home.

But what I encountered when I got to her house was not what I expected.  All three ladies and precious baby Ava came out to greet me.  Chasity’s grandma marched right over to the wall and got down the enormous ladder.  I tried to take it from her, but she would have none of that.  She told me it was light and that she would follow me to the house.  And so all four of us went back to my house to try and solve the obnoxious smoke detector.

Without boring you with all the details, let’s just say that running up the ladder and switching the battery was not what ended up happening.  After I gave a valiant 🙂 effort and failed, Chasity’s mom went to the top of the ladder and dismantled the entire thing.  The chirping stopped and my heart sang! I laid the “dead” monitor cover down and hoped never to hear its ear piercing song again.

These do-it-now-and-get-it-done ladies had lived out the Golden Rule right in front of me.  They had done for me exactly what they would have wanted for me to do for them if the tables were turned.

Unfortunately, their heroic acts didn’t stop there.  Jessie, my golden retriever, had truly been traumatized by the whole screaming monitor thing.  So moments after the ladies left, I put her outside in our FENCED yard.  Not five minutes later the doorbell rang and a little “Transformer” standing on my porch informed me that they had “found Jessie”.  I threw on my cowboy boots and headed down the street to bring my prodigal canine home.

The problem was, she didn’t WANT to come home.  The screeching had gotten to her and she had absolutely no intention of returning.  So what did she do?  She threw herself on the ground and went into full dead weight mode.  Jessie is not small.  And when what composes 2/3 of my own body weight goes completely limp, there is little I can do about it.  I pulled and tugged with all my might.  Not an inch.

Again, I won’t go into full detail, but the process involved sweat, tears and falling to the ground exhausted.  And who do you think came to my rescue?  The man whose house Jessie had run to?  Oh no.  He had gone inside at the first sight of my struggle.  No, it was my cornfed heroines once again who saved the day.  Grandma came out with a hunk of meat she’d made for dinner as a bribe for Jessie.  Mom took baby so that Chasity could bring her dog as a type of enticement to bring Jessie home.  The fifty yards home was not pretty.  Even with the lure of food and male companionship, Jessie was not easily swayed to come back to her “haunted” house.  But it eventually happened and I collapsed in tears on the couch.

Seconds later my phone rang and Chasity’s grandma wanted to bring me some dinner.  More of the meat used in Jessie’s return.  After all of their help, they were now feeding me, knowing I was home alone last night.  They were loving me just like Jesus loves them.

Girls, I can’t thank you enough.  Not just for the things you did, but for the attitude with which you did them.  It came from the most sincere and natural place in your hearts.  In your minds there was no question of whether or not to do it.  It’s just “what neighbors do”.  But to me it meant the world.  And it was a true example of the Golden Rule.  Thank you.

And my dead monitor lying on the table?  It just started chirping again….sigh…