Neighbor Dave, at the head of the street, battles mud that washes down the mountain and clogs the pipes under his driveway. John was concerned about the pipe under ours. Recently Dave came down to look, offering his advice and the loan of his long tool. Grandson David wielded it deftly to bring out leaves and debris.

At the other end, John shoveled mud. We have been here almost three years, and this was the first time he worked on the pipe. It’s wonderful to have neighbors who share their expertise.

A different kind of sharing came from neighbor Bob across the street. He phoned and asked, “Do you like barbecue?”

In the light of his subsequent statement, I would paraphrase that as, “If I bring you some really special BBQ, could you possibly appreciate it as much as I do?”

Bob had no way of knowing that we are FANATICS when it comes to Southern barbecued pork. As he handed it to me, he explained that it had come from a fund-raiser for an upcoming mission trip. His friend had cooked the meat, and the sauce was from a special person, too.

He said, “We had meat left over, and I’ve been eating it. On top of that, my daughter-in-law gave me a plate of food from her food truck [a brand new venture]. I wish I could eat it all, but it is not good for me to have so much.”

I wanted to make Bob realize he had brought his precious gift to the right home. I said, “We LOVE barbecue. Once when we were house-hunting down here, we ate BBQ five or six days in a row.”

In order to commemorate Bob’s generosity, I snapped David’s photo as we were about to eat the meat. I didn’t realize the sauce seemed to have top billing here. The meat was superb, and we left the table with contented smiles on our faces.

Aren’t our neighbors wonderful? It took a while for me to realize that Bob’s sharing was actually sacrificial giving.