neighbors.

My friend Kris lost her dad to cancer last week. He was only 65, and young in a lot of other ways, too. He will be missed.

Kris and her husband Marc have been such a blessing to my family. Aside from being outstanding individuals, she has regularly gone over and beyond her neighborly duties for us. Always with a smile and a kind word. They are the kind of neighbors we hope to always have, no matter where life takes us.

I have had plenty of great neighbors throughout the years. Bob and Carol, Mickey and Wynn.

In Oak Forest there were Mike and Cathy, and Diane and Dave. Char and Heidi. Jim.

There are the neighbors who are good because they don't bother you. Then there are those who take your mail in when you are out of town, and let your dog out when you are gone all day. They have your house key and they watch out for your kids.

Kris agreed to watch the girls for me this summer, at the last minute, when I really needed someone. She is patient and kind even when the girls don't feel like cooperating. She has taken them to their summer camps and lessons, and taken them in at 6AM when I had to work early.

And though we don't "hang out" per se, we have been known to throw back a beer or two while enjoying one of their summer suburban driveway campfires.

And that is the type of relationship that might often go overlooked. But without which, life would be so much more difficult, and far less enjoyable.

Recently I ran across something that struck me so significantly:

God gives you the "family" you need, exactly when you need it. It is most likely not your "real family," most often is not. It is just Him working in slight, subtle and almost unrecognizable ways to help us bear the burden that every day life sometimes brings.

What a blessing.