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Neighborhood Pressure

I have often shared with children and youth groups the importance of not being influenced by peer pressure. Then I realized I was succumbing to pressure from my neighbors every season of the year. No one wants to be the neighborhood’s embarrassment so I was working, spending and worrying about things that hadn’t even been that important before I bought a home. Maybe you do better at standing firm under these difficult pressures, but I must confess that being a homeowner suddenly meant much more than a mortgage for me!

I am very busy with work, church and social activities. After settling into a house from an apartment, I began to notice the subtle way that community pressure was creeping up on me. In the spring, the people who lovingly planted bulbs in the fall are enjoying beautiful gardens early in the season. I ran out and bought something blooming—just to make my yard look a bit more cheerful. I obviously had not been bulb planting when it was time. By summer, I was watering and mowing way more often than I wanted to, just to keep my weeds and grass from infringing on the manicured lawns around me.

In the fall, it starts to get serious as the neighbors scowl at me when I drive by. They are all out raking and bagging their leaves and don’t appreciate my desire to skip off for a Saturday of fun instead of doing yard work. With leaves still on the ground, I get hit annually with the pressure to shovel continuously during each of winter’s snowstorms. I’ve noticed neighbors rolling their eyes and shaking their heads when my snow shovel digs up dirty leaves under the snow in my driveway. Somehow they all manage to shovel and keep the snow pristine.

Proper trash disposal is critical. And I haven’t even gotten to the pressure I feel about adding flags, banners, decorations, birdbaths or lights to my yard. I guess I hate being the neighborhood disappointment so much that I actually take some Saturdays to work around the house instead of playing on my one day off. Now that’s neighborhood pressure!

Pam and Kathy’s 7 Tips for Blessing Your Neighbors

Determine to what extent you will work to make your home attractive for your neighbors.
Try to help one neighbor with an outdoor task each season.
Invite friends or family to help you with outdoor work on a Saturday. Finish the day with a barbeque.
Plan a neighborhood party to celebrate a season.
Pray for the family of every home on your street as you drive by.
Place one fun item in your yard that greets others with joy.
Sometimes, pay someone to do yard work for you.